The pressure to pass is made heavier with how test grades are handled in the math department. With tests weighted at 70 percent of a six weeks average, it’s a wonder students are having trouble passing math.

One could make hundreds on both homework and quizzes, but that does little to affect a bad test grade.

We all have those days where we were up too late or forgot to study, but there isn’t much hope when it comes to really increasing an average after failing a test. While test corrections and extra credit may help, if it’s even provided, when it comes down to its the test grades that decide whether you pass the six weeks or not.

In most core classes, tests are usually weighed anywhere from 30 to 50 percent.

Missing a single day of math is unforgiving enough when it comes to the amount of homework you’ll have to make up, but if you miss just one lesson it’ll be that much harder to do well on the detrimental test.

Math is known for not exactly being everyone’s best or favorite subject. So why its the most heavily weighted class I can’t understand.

While students do have opportunities to get extra tutoring after and before school as well as during FIT sessions, other teachers may have priority those days or the student might have extra curricular activities that take up their time.

Although it is expected of students to juggle their own time and deal with the consequences, the stress that is put on students can be very overwhelming.

Another issue is that because math grades can suffer so easily it makes a student’s GPA drop dramatically. Which in turn can really affect how colleges see students.

A way to better the system would be to lower the percentage that tests are weighed to somewhere between 30 and 50 like other core classes and provide more extra credit opportunities or test retakes like many classes do.