Midterm is literally the middle of an academic term. Student often refer to “midterms” as though they are a specific thing, where in reality, they refer to exams or other evaluations given sometime during the term, just not at finals. It’s not really so precise a term. On the other hand, many colleges and universities issue midterm grades at the midpoint of the term, and students should pay close attention to these.
Midterm Deficiencies
I mentioned midterms in my post on how the academic calendar works. Even new students are aware of the dreaded “midterms” once they hear about them from upperclass students. Sometimes these exams will count for a significant part of their final grade, so students usually take them seriously. Often their hard work pays off, but sometimes, new students find they aren’t adequately prepared. As a result, many are shocked at their performance, with formerly solid “A” students earning high “C’s” on their midterms, which leads them to panic. Many colleges issue midterm warnings or deficiencies for students who have earned “D’s and “F’s” at midterms, adding to their stress. But all is not lost. Students whose performance isn’t up to snuff at midterms can still recover.
How to Help Your Student Pivot and Recover
The important thing to remind your student is that a midterm grade is only that: it’s not their final grade. If they’re not happy with their grade at midterms, ask what they will do to fix it? And for most, the phrase “work harder” isn’t going to cut it. Sure, they may have been goofing off a bit too much during their first term, but most students understand the wake up call of a low midterm grade. Students who have earned midterm deficiencies are often directed to speak with their academic advisors, and this is clearly a time for them to call in a lifeline to student support services. Encouraging them to look carefully at how they performed on midterms is critical. You can do this by asking them:
●Where do you think you went wrong?
●How have you been studying?
●What did the professor (or teaching assistant) say when you approached them? (Ask this one in this fashion, rather than asking if they talked to their professor—it’s a psychology thing.)
●What can we do to help you from home?
●How can you find better ways to prepare for the next exam?
While you ask these questions, also provide your general support and your understanding that college is more challenging than high school, and that you’re still in their corner. Another point of the questions is to encourage them to delve deeper into how they study and prepare themselves academically so they can develop better skills. These skills will be critical as they go through college, because the courses will get more challenging, not less so.
Your student should also keep in mind that just because their midterm grades weren’t bad, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be working to get better. This post from the University of Iowa stresses that even students have no midterm reports may not be in great shape academically. Keep encouraging your student to be realistic and to use every means of support at their disposal to improve their performance over time. There are plenty of supports at every college campus for students who use them. Make sure your student is one of those.