With exams coming up in just a few weeks, students at Elder are already freaking out about the tests that they will have to take. Some of the exams that students have in the upcoming weeks require a little more studying than others.

I went around and asked a few current students as well as a couple alumni about some of the more difficult mid-term exams that they have had to take throughout their high school careers at Elder.

Mrs. Corwell, Spanish 2: Of course a foreign language class made this list as one of the classes with the most difficult mid term exams. Unfortunately, for second year Spanish students, it is your foreign language class. Now the exam is all stuff you have done before as I’m sure Mrs. Corwell has already told her students. However, just the numerous verb conjugations and accent marks make for many chances for mistakes to be made. “It’s crazy how much one little accent mark can change the entire meaning of a word and cost you some points on the test,” one of Mrs. Corwell’s former Spanish students told me. Luckily she gives plenty of practice to prepare for this exam!

Mr. Spencer, World Cultures: Honestly the preparation for this mid-term is probably more difficult than the actual test. Students have to study and be able to recall all of the terms that Coach Spencer has given out through the first semester. At least he gives his students a list of the terms that could possibly be on the exam so that they are able to “not study” as he would say. However students who do use their time wisely and study for the World Cultures exam usually achieve solid scores.

Mr. Kriemer, Biology: This exam is the only one on this list that I did not take myself, so I really had to ask around to get the scoop on this one. The general consensus was that Mr. Kriemer’s  Biology exam was similar to Coach Spencer’s in the sense that preparation for this exam was just as difficult as the actual test. One former biology student told me

Mr. Listerman, Personal Finance: Now Coach Listy’s personal finance exam may not be considered by many to be very difficult but I thought I would include it in the list because it has a unique twist. One major skill that students learn in this class is how to tie a tie. Coach Listy shows all of his students how to do it (whether they already know how to or not) a few days before they are required to show him that they are able to do it. Clearly Mr. Listerman stands by the motto “dress for success.” Once you pass the personal finance exam you become a “personal finance wizard.”

The general theme throughout the list is that preparation is the key. If you want to get good grades on your exams, you’re going to want to make sure that you take your time and study as much as you can. These exams, along with pretty much every other quiz or test are a lot easier when students are prepared.