Then end of the semester brings lots of excitement, being half-way done with the school year. However, it also brings lot of stress as the quarterlies and midterms roll around. The real question is, which one is better: the midterm or the quarterly?

The difference is that a midterm is taken after the end of the semester, which is two nine weeks, and consists of all the information from the whole first half of the school year. Then, at the very end of the school year, another one would be taken. The total for the whole year would be two tests. A quarterly is taken after each nine weeks and is a test only on what occurred in that section of time. The total number of quarterly tests taken by the end of the year would be four.

Different people have different opinions about which test they would rather take, and the debate continues. I asked a few people what kind of test they would rather take and this is what I was told.

Calista Colbert, senior, stated, “Probably quarterlies because although they’re more frequent, there’s less information and you don’t have to scramble at the end of the semester to relearn all of the stuff you forgot.”

Sara Hale, senior, said “Midterms because they’re less frequent and I don’t like taking four huge tests.”

Olivia Malvar, senior, “Quarterlies because it’s not as much information.”

Kiara Carrasquilla, senior, “Quarterlies because midterms is a lot of information.”

Sarah Angiulo, senior, “I’d probably rather take quarterlies because it is less information you have to recall and stuff so it’s usually less stressful.”

Katherine Leech, senior, “Quarterlies because it’s less information.”

I asked Mr. Semega about his thoughts of midterms and quarterlies to get a teacher’s perspective on what he thinks is the most beneficial for the students. He noted, “I personally like the quarterlies better than the midterm and final. The midterm and the final do give a better idea of what the workload at college will be, but for students right now at this level, quarterlies are less information and are better overall for them.”

There are pros and cons to each of them, but it just comes down to test-taking skills. If you are a good test taker and don’t mind taking four tests, then you will like the quarterlies. If you might not have the best test taking skills but can remember something from the second week of school, midterms are for you.

So what do you prefer, midterms or quarterlies?