January is usually the time during the school year where most students want to beat their heads off of a desk in frustration. This is not only because it’s dark, cold, and dreary outside; it’s also because of those inevitable midterms. Really though, midterms are only for one week and then they are done. Still though, the tests bring stress. And despite the fact that many teachers give project-based midterms, that can cause even more stress if they don’t also provide enough time to complete the work. The entire point of a midterm is to test the knowledge that a student has acquired in the first semester of the year. And in many classes, that happens. However, some project-based midterms could be too narrow to accomplish such a broad goal. For example, imagine a class where your midterm was to write a 10-page paper on Ancient Egypt. Unless the class spent the entire first half of the year learning about Cleopatra and King Tut, then this really doesn’t serve the purpose of midterms. So why have such a major grade rest on something so narrow? It seems that if it’s a core class, such as English, history, or math, then the teacher often has a test; but in electives, they typically have more of a project-based midterm. In some cases, that makes perfect sense. But when the project isn’t testing the skills learned all year, it just doesn’t. When projects make sense, they can be a good midterm. However, it can become extremely stressful for students who have many projects at the same time. To do quality work on each project, it would be great if teachers make sure they provide enough in-class time for students to begin their work. We personally know how stressful this whole experience can be, which leads back to the whole beating-your-head-off-the-desk-in-frustration thing. The student editors of the FHS Press are not asking to get rid of midterms; they are an important part of the learning process. However, steps should be taken to make sure they are practical, and cover the material presented in the class.