Every student on campus has experienced the stress of preparing for and taking a test. And every student has also struggled with waking up, focusing and reenergizing before a Monday. But when those two challenges coincide — especially when multiple tests land on a Monday — it can be overwhelming, as both students and teachers have observed.
This stress can be linked to the commonly known phenomenon of “Monday Blues.” Referencing a study in the Sage Journals titled “Workdays are not created equal,” Kim Elsesser of Forbes investigated the concept of “Monday Blues” in the workplace.
“The employees reported liking their job less and experiencing more stress at the beginning of the week.” Elsesser said. “…the link between some stressors and how much they liked their job was stronger at the beginning of the week, indicating that employees may also be more sensitive to stress earlier in the week.”
While exams are an undisputed necessity in academics, the number of tests administered in one day can become overwhelming for some, and that is where the debate on testing on Monday schedules comes in.
“This year I’ve had more tests compared to other years on Monday,” senior Samantha Hui said. “I think the extra time to study over the weekend helps, but I’d rather have it on like Friday and have less time to study.”
This sentiment is shared among students. Sophomore Serena Koopmans has dealt with the struggle of frequently having multiple assessments during the Monday schedule.
“There are definitely weeks when I have a test in most of my classes, and those are really stressful because not being able to go to flex for every single one of those classes means I have to kind of pick and choose and it’s also just stressful because I have to stay up really late to study for those,” Koopmans said.
Many students are regularly forced to sacrifice sleep and free time, two things that are also vital to overall student health.
“I definitely think it’s more detrimental to mental health. Most people have things to do over the weekend that [are] not school related…So [the] weekend is a time where you can actually try to take a break from school. And if you do have tests on Monday, it’s hard to do that,” Hui said.
Teachers acknowledge the challenge of having multiple tests on Monday, but rescheduling tests is easier said than done. Because teachers aren’t in constant communication with each other, it isn’t always possible to avoid scheduling tests on the same days. Teachers must also factor in completing course material on time, and for Advanced Placement (AP) classes, it’s not always possible to delay tests.
“There’s no technology that solves that issue to help us learn that, ‘Oh, someone’s given out a test on Monday. So I should schedule mine on another day.’ So that part’s hard,” AP Statistics teacher Sonny Lau said.
While that is the case for most departments, Italian teacher Celine Perry has a very different scheduling system in place.
“I specifically have a little bit more flexibility in when I conduct my tests and quizzes because I’m the only person who teaches Italian and I don’t have to match this schedule or timeline with anyone else,” Perry said.
Perry also understands the benefits as well as the downsides that come with having assessments at the start of the week.
“I suppose a benefit could be that you get it out of the way at the start of the week, and you can focus on your classes and not have this thing…stressing you out all week,” Perry said. “But, I don’t feel like it’s conducive on Monday because every period just goes so quickly. And in general the pace feels a little more rushed.”
The shortened nature of the Monday schedule has proven to be a difficult arrangement for both students and teachers. Students feel more stressed coming into the school week, and teachers have to use their time in a strict manner in order to keep pace with the curriculum. However, some students, like Hui, see a simple solution.
“I understand that it’s short so the only thing they can do is test. But if you spend Monday as a review day… then the following block day then you could do the test.” Hui said.
From Hui’s perspective, this is one viable solution towards preventing tests from stacking up on the quicker Monday schedules.
“It’s a good way to study before tests because like you just came back from the weekend so you’re refreshed and you review and then the following day you have the test, so you have enough time and you feel confident with the material.” Hui said.
While a slight change to how Monday schedules can be utilized would likely result in decreased stress levels in students and allow teachers to maintain their respective curricula, students could also remedy this issue with proactivity.
“Trying to be proactive and studying in events can help alleviate that stress.” Lau said.
