4th quarters for students are around the time of year when all the fun summer days filled with staying out late with your friends and not thinking about school are coming up. It’s the time of the year that you can let go of school and a lot of worries. It’s when most students feel like they have all the time in the world. But, during this time of the year most kids are wondering, Why would I need to learn this
“Coming back from spring break, it’s still hard adjusting because I was already struggling before spring break,” said Aleyaah James, a Freshman at Eaglecrest.
A lot of Freshmen have struggled with beginning high school as it’s a new atmosphere they have never been in and they need to learn how to balance everything. In the beginning of the school year, a lot of Freshmen have resources to help them, but later on in the school year, the help gets less and less. This is understandable, as teachers think they have figured out this whole high school thing, but in reality, the end of the year is the time when students need more support than ever.
“Wrapping up all the assignments, all the tests and exams I have to do is one of the hardest parts of 4th quarter,” said Sophomore Joelle Bickford.
The fourth quarter is notorious for all the tests in the quarter. It’s the last chance students get to show what they learned over the year and it plays a role in deciding if they fail or pass the classes. This part of the year is filled with exams, finals, AP testing, and of course the SATs for juniors.
“The hardest part and scariest part of the fourth quarter is the SATs, ” said Junior Kaleb Packer.
Everyone says Junior year is the hardest year out of all of the years in high school, as it’s the year that you need to be in tip-top shape for college. But out of all the grades that are in high school, most would agree that the fourth quarter is hardest for Seniors.
“The hardest part of fourth quarter is getting out of bed and going to school but also it’s all the homework and just keeping up that work just because I am so close to finishing,” said Senior Jalen Daugherty.
Senioritis is no joke, but how do people push through all of this hard work and troubles in the fourth quarter which helps them keep going and finishing strong? For some people, one of the things that keeps students going is that they are athletes for the school.
“The thing that motivates me during this time of year is being able to run track,” said Packer.
“I do sports so I have to stay eligible so it keeps me going throughout the fourth quarter,” said James.
To be able to keep doing sports you can’t have more than one F, so when a lot of students get into the 4th quarter slump their grades go down, and end up failing a lot of classes. Having to keep those grades up for sports helps a lot of students out with keeping good grades. But sports isn’t the only way to keep students motivated to finish strong in the fourth quarter.
“Just knowing that I’m so close to summer is the only motivation that I need to finish strong,” said Bickford
There’s a perception that teachers don’t understand what the fourth quarter does for students because everyone wants it to be done, but that hasn’t been the case for Packer. “Honestly, yes, my teachers have been helping me with my SAT practice,” said Packer.
Teachers understand that there are a lot of big tests and test anxiety that come with it so at the end of the year, teachers try to give out practice sheets or mock exams for AP testing, finals, and state tests like SAT or PSAT for the freshman and sophomores. On the other hand,
Some think that teachers are just trying to push through and finish the end of the school year as fast as they can because they want it to be done.
“I think some of them take in consideration that their students might be getting a little tired or not being able to focus a whole lot this quarter but I think a lot of them are mostly just telling us to get our work done and just get it over with,” said James.
It’s obvious that each grade level and student handles the end of the year differently, but it is ultimately a challenging time for everyone. Try your best to finish strong by studying and utilizing resources, and good luck on AP tests and finals!
