World language teachers are having to make adjustments in their lesson plans due to a change in the curriculum, which eliminated midterms.
These midterms served as an opportunity for world language teachers to see how well their students knew the course vocabulary as well as an opportunity for students to practice their test-taking skills. However without the midterm, teachers will have more instructional time in class.
“It feels as though there’s such an opportunity here to seize each individual class and each curriculum where we can sink a little bit more into the details that maybe had to fall to the side for timing and practical purposes,” said American Sign Language teacher Allison Hynes.
Students are also happy with this change as it has alleviated the stress that comes along with testing. They can now dedicate more time to studying for their other midterms.
“I feel like it’s better off without [a Midterm]. I mean, it takes a lot of pressure and stress off during the midterm area of the year. It’s just one less subject to study for and worry about,” said junior Sienna M.
Taking away the world language midterms does propose the issue of students not practicing formal test-taking before finals, so teachers will have to keep that in mind when scheduling tests.
“With ASL, I’m not going to have a similar big assessment, but I’m going to be mindful of where we stand and what we’re doing with the curriculum so that I’m confident by the end of the year all the students are exactly where I want them to be,” said Hynes.
World language teachers constantly reinforce skills to their students by having assessments to keep them caught up with the curriculum and familiarize them with helpful strategies for future tests.
“Within world languages we consistently evaluate the four main modalities of communication; listening, reading, writing, speaking. So the kids are doing that throughout the semester anyway, and we’re evaluating those different components, whether it’s formally or informally, they’re activities that are being done consistently anyway,” said world language lead teacher Carolyn Ingram.
Without the midterm this year, world language classes will have more opportunities to take other tests and quizzes without the extra stress of having a midterm as well.
“We are a performance based class in a lot of ways, I want to see what the students can do with the language. When we continue to give them opportunities to show that, and by having them as less formal assessments, I think sometimes the kids feel a bit more comfortable,” said Ingram.
Although there have been changes made to mid-year testing, assessments at the end of the year will still go on as usual. 
