This year, every high school in Middletown township, including North, has adopted the quarterly system, which is set to replace the traditional midterm/final set-up throughout New Jersey within the next few years.

The quarterly exam will take place at the end of each marking period and be a comprehensive exam for the marking period; the exams will not be cumulative in nature. They will be taken during the normally allotted time for the teacher’s class, as opposed to the shortened schedules North had previously used for midterms and finals. Each exam is structured so that it can be taken within a sixty minute window. In addition, each quarterly will be worth 20% of each student’s marking period grade.

Teachers seem to be very excited for the upcoming exams. “I personally like the quarterlies, and think students should be evaluated on an eight-week basis. It’s closer to a college setting,” says Audrey McGowan, one of North’s English teachers.

“I think the quarterlies are a good thing because they make exams easier for students. They’re not cumulative, so students aren’t struggling to remember things they did a long time ago,” says Emily Steeber, a musical education teacher.

Students, however, do not seem to be thrilled by this news. “Quarterlies won’t be beneficial. They cause students to focus on exams every marking period instead of trying to learn the material,” says Philip Guidetti, 18, a senior at North.

Regardless of one’s opinion on them, the quarterlies are set in stone for the 2013-2014 school year, and for the foreseeable future afterwards. The best thing students can do is prepare themselves for them, because it seems like quarterlies are here to stay.