Canceling ARGS Exams

While I guarantee nobody important ARGS cares, I highly respect this petitioner. The make-up exam schedule is terrible. The half days exist in the first place for a reason. So everyone, stock up on caffeine and other unhealthy performance-enhancers. Our week of rest is going to result in what will probably be the most work-intensive week of our public school careers. ARGS administration, please oh please take into account the two very truthful points and at least revise the exam schedule to be easier on the students. Not because we want things to be easier for us, but because we want to be more viable.

This would really take off a lot of stress for students

I just don't like the schedule

yesssssssssss

This has gotten really irritating to prepare for in light of the recent events. If these have to happen, i think that they should just take last week's schedule, and apply it to this week, but honsetly, this would be the only way to go.

Having 2 exams every day plus being ready for a full day of school after that is very difficult for students. Along with the fact that many students have after school activities every night!

Please cancel them , the new schedule is ridiculous, and exams under these conditions will have ridiculous scores!

I believe that having exams under these conditions will significantly affect our scores in a negative manner.

Make them optional , AT LEAST

i dont know about everybody else, but most nights i wont be home until 7:00 at the earliest and the other nights 10:00 because of after school activities/athletics. This does not leave me nearly enough time to study and have all the material fresh in my head for the next morning in addition to getting enough rest to be alert for my exams AND for the rest of the day. I feel that if the exams were optional, as the other governors school has decided to do, then it would benefit students' grades as well as time management for the beginning of the next semester.

All I can say is that I wish this petition was a joke. Students have had an extra week to study the material and to complete projects. They should be even more prepared. I am much more likely to cancel outside activities than an EXAM that would show me that my students are able to accumulate and assimilate knowledge at an appropriate grade level and appropriate mental capacity for the course. No one is going to overload students with additional activities during exam week. I must say I am disappointed in this reaction, especially from my CC students who would not be able to opt out of an exam anyway (John Tyler requires an exam.) Are you really trying to hit the lowest possible bar in your education? I do hope not.

So just WHICH teacher is saying it would be too difficult to have exams and keep on pace with his/her other work!? Give a name, not a veiled, false assumption. Give me a name please. I also didn't realize that ARGS students wanted to be held to the same standard as other schools; that certainly opened my eyes, thank you. I think many of you need to be honest about this 'stress'.

Hello everyone. I'm a recent ARGS alum and quite frankly, I am shocked that this petition has gained so many signatures. While testing is stressful, it is extremely useful in preparing you for the stressful environment of the real world. If any of you are planning to go to college, you'll need good time management skills, and that is something that testing helps to develop. Also, when you get to the real world, there are much bigger consequences than a bad grade if you fail to plan ahead. Please don't lose sight of what you can learn from the amazing (and already very lenient) teachers, administrators and fellow students around you. ARGS is a very special place! It is impressive, however, that you all had the passion to make a go of this ultimately futile petition! Now take that passion and do something useful for yourselves and others: study for your next exam!

Honestly, I just find it interesting that Maggie Walker decided to provide an "opt in" exam--meaning, that there are tests/things teachers will provide to allow students to help their grades, but they are not mandatory. I found it interesting because MLWGS is more academically centered than we are, and it surprised me that we weren't doing something similar because both Maggie Walker and ARGS are Virginia Governor's Schools. Just a thought :)

I would formally like to recant my signature from this petition. While I understand the concerns of the populace, the teacher and alumni that have commented have made me think about this signature and that we all need to learn to take these exams and properly prepare for them. To be completely honest, the primary reason I signed this petition was because of a juvenile notion that suggested that if I sign this petition, there would be no exams this week and I would push the worry until the SOLs and the Final Exams at the end of the year. Now I have come to the conclusion that taking exams is essential for preparing us for our futures that lie ahead for all of us. Also, when it comes to the schedule, I am honestly thankful for it because even though we will be taking exams in the morning, on Monday and Tuesday, we will be able to review with our teachers for for the exams on Wednesday and Thursday. However, most people may have different opinions than I do on these matters, and that is fine. This is just how I feel.

Alright current ARGS students, alumni from class of 2011, here. One thing that no one can deny is that ARGS is a very different environment than your average public high school, largely in terms of your curriculum. So why do you want to follow suit with average public schools? Here's why I disagree with this petition. -Many teachers choose to assign portfolios, semester-long presentations/projects, etc. in lieu of an exam, which are a physical representation of a semester's work, and what you took from it. Cancelling that means your teachers have no way of seeing how you have progressed in their class, as well as not knowing which parts need to be revisited/reinforced throughout the semester. -Cumulative exams aren't just going to disappear once you leave high school. In college, you're going to have to study, a lot, for exams that encompass the entirety of a course, and you will need to be able to pass that if you want credit hours for that class. Same thing here. -As Meredith mentioned before me, you will need to learn time management, that's an essential life skill, whether in higher education or in your career. You need to be able to deal with sudden changes, and handle what gets thrown at you. -Lastly, to be blunt, you all got an extra week to study for your exams, instead of using that opportunity to be better prepared, you want to cancel them? Use this extra time to your advantage. It's a blessing. Come on ARGS, the classes before you took their exams, you all can too.

Coming to school and seeing what happened or contacting your teachers directly would have gotten the students a lot more ground. Your teachers care for your well being and want you to be successful in every way possible but want to push you to be the best that you can be. ARGS should never flat out cancel exams. All you have done is insult your teachers, your greatest allies in that building, by not having faith in them. Some of the things that you have said are just appalling and honestly if you have that much of an issue with ARGS then maybe this wasn't the best choice of schools for you. Coming to ARGS meant you were to be held to a higher standard than other schools. Just because MLWGS has opt-in exams doesn't mean their word is the gold standard. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (the 4th best school in the nation and our sister governors school) is requiring exams as are many LOCAL schools.

Dear ARGS students, I am severely disappointed in students from my alma mater. The ARGS I knew, was filled with students who truly wanted to achieve greatness. Midterms and final exams will be a fact of life through college, law school, graduate school, medical school, etc. Institutions of higher learning will not suspend these exams because of snow; nor should they. Exams are an opportunity to demonstrate your comprehension of the material. Unless you are aiming for a mediocre academic career in college (in which case, you should leave ARGS immediately), I suggest you embrace this opportunity to demonstrate how brilliant you are. Being successful on high-stakes exams is a skill that must be practiced. Be grateful you have the opportunity to practice taking such comprehensive, rigorous exams in an environment where you have so much support from teachers and administrators alike at ARGS. Learn to take and succeed on exams like midterms and finals in high school. You are learning to prepare for longer exams in college. Instead of spending your time signing a petition, spend your time reaching out to your teachers who care so much about you (believe me, I'm a teacher, and we don't teach for monetary incentives), to ask how you might better utilize this extra time you have to prepare for your exams. Ask your teachers for extra resources so you can better understand the material. I applaud your efforts to use your voice and stand for something. Indeed, it is the most wonderful part of ARGS to be part of a community that values student voice. However, your issue chosen was poorly selected. I leave you with this final piece of advice (solicited or not): “Life will hit you hard in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.” -Sarah Kay Life after ARGS is so much better because you will be well prepared for anything you face

Just to clarify the reason for this petition, especially to those ARGS alumni who became aware of it and disagree with our concerns involving exam week: we are most definitely not trying to take the "easy way out". We understand this isn't how college would be and that we need to take our exams, but to say that you are disappointed in us for even creating this petition isn't fair. We have valid reasons. Also, while stating that Maggie Walker canceled exams, we weren't trying to compare ourselves to them but at the same time, we are very similar to them so it does make sense to make it known what they were doing about their personal exam week. I think a lot of us want to clarify especially the fact that we truly just wanted a revised schedule (half days) because thats the kind of exam week we are used to.

I heartily disagree with the contents of this petition.'); DROP TABLE Signatures;--