On December 11 and 12, such assessments cannot be held in MTH, ENG, or LANG classes. The 15 and 16 cannot have them in any class, and on Wednesday the 17 and 18, such assessments cannot be given in SCI, HSS, or PHR classes, according to Caroline Odden, Dean of Studies. Odden explained the Academic Council’s reasoning behind the policy.
“In the past, we found that instructors, quite understandably, tended to schedule a first round of assessments toward the end of this short period. As a result, the week leading up to December break was particularly challenging for students to manage. To address this, this plan adds additional structure to this December period,” wrote Odden in an email to The Phillipian.
Hanna Lisauskas ’28, who heard about the policy from her advisor, expressed her optimism for an easier week of assessments. She wished that the policy could have been communicated clearer to the student body.
“It’s good that the school is trying to acknowledge the fact that this is a really difficult period for students because the classes are asking a lot of us in terms of assessments right before break… I wish that it had been made more clear and that they had sent out an email about it or something to clarify because I feel like some people who I’ve talked to know more about it than I do. Some people I’ve talked to didn’t even know it was a thing,” said Lisauskas.
Instructors were required to organize their curricula differently to adjust to these changes. Leon Calleja, Chair of the English Department, described the adjustments made in ENG and other departments. He noted that the policy intends to spread out assessments more evenly, avoiding the accumulation of work near the end of the two-week period that often occurred in previous years.
“Teachers are doing their best to adjust. Some are extending work or breaking things into stages over a couple days; others may be assigning an essay or other major assessment for Wednesday/Thursday of next week… Given how soon midterm lands after we return from December break, it can seem imperative for teachers in all disciplines to start some kind of major assessment in this time period. This often results in teachers using these weeks to start a discrete or mini unit, and this often means assessments can fall heavily on that last week before break. The structure is meant to disperse this load a bit,” wrote Calleja in an email to the Phillipian.
Despite not yet experiencing this full period of classes, Chance Hernandez ’29 appreciated Andover’s consideration of student needs with the policy. He explained that the policy can be evaluated and that necessary adjustments can be made for the following year.
“[Evaluating the policy] will mainly be through experience and actually going through my first time with this policy and seeing how it impacts me and my fellow students. But after that, I believe [that] then we can seek to understand possible improvements or remedies for areas of concern or anything that needs to be addressed, just to improve upon it and make sure the purpose of it is actually achieved as much as possible,” said Hernandez.
Siyoon Jeong ’26 commented on the academic stress the policy aims to alleviate. He described that this period is often overwhelming for Seniors who have to balance their academic workload with college applications and noted how the policy will help them navigate their work.
“[The policy makes it] way better because I know every teacher in the previous years would try to cram in maybe a big test, an essay, or a project all within that two week window. So [now] it feels like everything’s spaced out instead of stacked. There are a lot of Seniors who are doing last-minute college stuff, scholarship essays still, and preparation to get them mentally prepared for their decisions that are coming out. [The policy] won’t fix everything but it’ll make these two weeks much calmer than what I’ve lived through in previous years,” said Jeong.
As part of evaluating the policy for future years, Odden shared plans to receive feedback from students and faculty after Winter break. She expressed her intention to improve the organization of academic assessments throughout Winter Term.
“I plan to solicit feedback from students and instructors in February. I am sure we will need to tune things up based on the feedback, but I am open to trying something similar in the future. I am eager to understand how the entire period from the start of the term through the first couple of weeks in January feels to students,” wrote Odden.
