Students conquer return of formal exams
Prior to past semester, kids in grades 9 through 11 had never written big tests
Handing out Kit Kat chocolate bars, reminding students to “take a break.”
Extending library hours, ensuring there was space to gather with study groups. Hosting Cookies and Cram, a drop-in program offering both tutoring support and baked cookies.
For the majority of Niagara’s secondary school students, the past few weeks have been filled with unknowns, as many have found themselves, for the first time, prepping for formal examinations.
Timed, in-person, closed-book, worth a large chunk of final grades exams.
Prior to this past semester, kids in grades 9 through 11 had never written high school exams, and students in Grade 12, many heading off to post-secondary institutions in the fall, last wrote exams during their first high school semester.
Exams wrapped up Tuesday; the new semester started Thursday.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, formal exams were paused across the province. Quizzes and tests remained, but were offered virtually or were open-book and didn’t have the same weight as a typical exam.
This year, however, was different. It was back preparing, cramming and reviewing for exams worth, in most cases, 30 per cent of students’ final grade.
For Charlotte Johnstone, a student trustee at Saint Paul Catholic High School in Niagara Falls, this was her first time taking a high school exam. Calling herself a “very studious person,” the Grade 11 student began her exam preparation early, during the Christmas break, because of her heavier semester that included math, French, English and biology.
Three of her exams were worth 30 per cent, which Johnstone said was “definitely a bit overwhelming,” but having a consistent class schedule this year allowed her to retain information in a way she wasn’t able to previously.
In the lead-up, Johnstone said students spoke with teachers about their concerns — worried they wouldn’t finish in the allotted time and worried about not knowing enough — but received understanding back, with teachers “very open” to answering questions.
“It’s normal to be nervous and stressed, but you don’t need to be too overwhelmed because this is something that happens every semester, every year,” said Johnston when asked what she learned. “Asking for help is OK.”
Despite her limited experience, Johnstone said she felt prepared. Two of her exams allowed a “cheat sheet” which she saw as mostly a comfort mechanism — by repeatedly writing the information to fit on one piece of paper, come exam day Johnstone realized she didn’t need the sheet.
It was those “little things” teachers introduced that made her comfortable.
“This is the real deal. We need to be performing our absolute best to prepare for post-secondary now. Definitely, there was a bit of concern going in, but afterwards I did feel good. I had great teachers that prepared us well,” she said. “We all made it through.”
Even before the pandemic, exams were nerve-racking and intimidating for students — more so for students like Tiya Patel, who are in the middle of their final year of high school when the grades they earn will dictate their post-secondary pathway.
The Grade 12 student — she had two exams, both worth 20 per cent of her final marks — had little exam experience and few learned study habits.
“It was definitely scary going into Grade 12 feeling like there wasn’t much consistency for myself as a student throughout the years to prepare me,” said the Stamford Collegiate Secondary student. “They’re over and done now, but definitely going into it, it felt very frightening.”
Patel said her Niagara Falls teachers guided students through the process, teaching them what to review, how to study and giving students tools to use moving forward. While at the same time, not shying away from the importance of exams.
“Even though they wanted to support students, they also wanted to support them in the way that they’ll be prepared in university and they didn’t want to be too easy,” she said. “I think it was very valuable that not only were they looking to support students but looking to also prepare them for the future.”
In a number of schools, it was students helping themselves, creating student-led programs and initiatives to support one another. Patel said her student council did a Cookies and Cram session in the school library to “help students not only get into the mood of studying, and get into exam season, but also let them know there are supports available.”
At Saint Michael, Grade 12 student Steffen Zylstra could feel a “nervous energy” coming from his peers in the lead-up to exam week. But it was a change compared to his own experience in Grade 9, with teachers making sure students were prepared and comfortable with the course materials.
“Even students in lower grades that I’ve talked to, grades 9 through 11, they feel like it’s definitely been a shift and it’s been difficult but they’re not being blindsided by this big, overwhelming task,” said Zylstra, who has applied to university engineering programs.
His big fear, as a student trustee, was that students would come into the exam environment and feel “so stressed out, they can’t even operate properly,” but Zylstra said he sees a shift towards “making sure students succeed.”
“The help is there.”