Editorial

A lifeline snatched from student

Excluding Midterm exams is one of the many stunts pulled off by the administration during this academic year. Aside from the ‘7-week semester’ and the divided sessions in the modified online learning system, the administration has decided to bypass the midterm examinations, going straight to the final exams in the final week of each session. Though some students might have favored the absence of midterm exams, there were still a number of students who grieved for the loss of missed chances. Before, a midterm exam used to be a lifeline of second chances to do better. Although the AdZU administration is doing its best to embody the values it upholds, there are still lingering upshots after the school has made its decision to compress the five to six-month learning period to 7 weeks of synchronous and asynchronous sessions per course subject. The decision to bypass the midterm exams was made to compromise the shortened school year due to Intersession classes that started two months late last 2020. To master the required competency of each course subject, both the faculty and the students have to adjust immediately because 1 missed synchronous class also equates to 1 week minus 7 weeks of prearranged sessions. This then creates a rigid system of grueling make-or-break exams that lessen the chances of survival per college course. Undoubtedly, compressing all the topics discussed within 7 weeks into one final exam is ideally practical and quicker than the traditional pen-paper exam, however, the weight of a single exam burdens students more to keep up with retention grades. The absence of midterm exams might seem fitting for some; but one Final exam holds a heavier load and drops the chance of equal opportunity for students to pass. The schedule of midterm exams has not been made clear for School Calendar 2021-2022, which means that granting remedial and make-up tests are the closest humane solutions to this academic crisis.