Nearing the end of the semester means that students have one thing in mind, which is taking their midterms or semester exams. It is always important to have the most recent information on midterms, including exemptions, schedules, and any other important information.
Students start out the semester with zero exemptions and can earn up to eight based on their absences, tardies and discipline. Having no tardies for any of the three six weeks will result in gaining three exemptions. Having no absences will result in another three exemptions, and lastly, having no discipline throughout the semester will result in an additional two exemptions. Seniors are also able to gain another two exemptions for their CCMR points.
There are ways to lose the privilege of gaining exemptions, meaning that students will have to take all of their semester exams. Students can lose all of their exemptions by having five or more unexcused absences in the semester in any one class and by being assigned DAEP at any point during the year.
There are many guidelines put into place for using exemptions in order to be exempt from an exam. Firstly, exemptions do not apply to any state mandated testing or dual enrolled classes. Students also must be passing the class that they wish to exempt. A student eligible for exemption may take any exam for which they are exempt, but in such cases, the overall grade may be raised because of the exam but not lowered. For students that are absent on the day of the exam, the exam will receive a grade of zero until it is retaken on the day of retesting, where they can receive a grade other than zero. Any class that a student is exempt from will receive a semester grade of the average of all three six weeks.
It is important to know what to do on the day of your midterms. The days of testing are Thursday, Dec. 19 and Friday, Dec. 20. All students must check in with their sixth period teachers on Thursday and their second period teachers on Friday at 8:05 for attendance. After attendance is done, principal Amber Hawk will release all exempt students. Students who are taking any midterms must remain in the classroom for the entire time of the test. Students who are exempt from an exam either must leave campus if they have transportation during that exam period or must report to the cafeteria. For students taking exams on Friday, students have the option of leaving campus at 12:20, or eat lunch or wait to ride the bus home.
Exemption forms will be given out to students on Monday, December 16 in their second period classes. Students must pay any outstanding fines and fees in order to receive exemption forms. Students must return their signed exemption fees back to their second period teachers on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
