Just a few short weeks after receiving their holiday presents, BHS students are accustomed to returning from winter break to receive another gift: semester exams.

Principal Dr. Ed Klein considered holding exams prior to break this school year, but he and other school administrators ultimately dropped the idea.

“This year, they will definitely be after break like always, as reflected in the school calendar,” Klein said.

However, Klein also said that next year’s exams will occur in December.

The principal said that such a decision for this year would not have given teachers enough time to properly adjust their pace of instruction.

He added that it would impact students as well, particularly those who were already planning to leave early for vacation over winter break.

“Attendance numbers are generally lower for the few days prior to the start of winter break,” he said.

Klein said he feels that holding finals prior to break will be beneficial to students in the long run.

“[Moving finals to December will allow] students to actually get a break from school and enjoy it,” he said. “It will also prepare them for the college atmosphere, because in college they will take their exams before break.”

Junior Yuke Zheng is skeptical of the schedule change.

“I think we should [continue to] have finals after winter break, because [moving them to before break] will hurt the alignment with [Advanced Placement] exams and not give teachers enough time to teach the material,” Zheng said.

AP exam dates are set by the College Board and can’t be changed.

Zheng said he does not feel pre-break exams will alleviate student stress. If anything, he argued, it could increase anxiety levels.

“[Moving exams] would make the weeks leading up to finals in December a lot more stressful than having [more time to study over] break,” he noted.

Nevertheless, Zheng did agree with some of Klein’s views.

“Finals before winter break would make the break a lot less stressful,” Zheng conceded.

Zheng said winter break seems like a logical reset button for a new semester for students, teachers and administrators alike.

In contrast, junior Josh Bialosky said he would like to take his final exams before winter break, rather than after.

“There is no benefit to having them after break,” he said. “It’s called a break for a reason. Students shouldn’t have to study and stress out over something for those two weeks.”

Of course, BHS teachers bring their own perspective.

“I don’t have a personal preference on when they are, but for students it is better to have them before break,” English teacher Casey Matthews said. “The extra time is a benefit. But if they were before winter break, it’s not something you [would] have to worry about [during break].”

Klein noted that nearly every other school in the Greater Cleveland area holds exam week prior to winter break. While pace of instruction may change as a result, he believes this adjustment should generally produce positive results.