Currently, Edina High School allows for test retakes up to 75%, and this is how is should be. When you fail to pass a test or get over 65%, that’s probably because of something that you forgot to do or shouldn’t have done that ended up lowering your ability to perform. You shouldn’t just get to retake to full like nothing happened. The 75% is a painful bite that should motivate you to do more preparation for the next test and not slack off the night before, so it is a waste of time for teachers and students to implement a high retake policy.
EHS teachers agree that a higher retake opportunity may incentivize students to stop trying their hardest on their first attempt. “My fear is, if we allow students to retake it up to 100%, for example, there’s gonna be a lot more of that game playing, of trying to just get that grade to wherever you want it,” AP Bio and Human Anatomy teacher Stephen Sanger said. “And it sort of takes the incentive away from the learning puts more into ‘How do I maximize my grade?’”
Furthermore, retakes already require a large investment for teachers. They are difficult to schedule due to students’ many obligations, and time like office hours and FLEX may be occupied by other activities—thus, finding retake time for teachers is stressful. Asking teachers to spend more time altering the current retake policy is an unreasonable expectation. “Teachers also don’t really have time to write a second assessment,” Sanger said. “So I think teacher time needs to be factored in, because more and more is being put on our plate.”
Every time a teacher is asked to retake, they go through a long, time consuming process just to give students a second chance. It isn’t worth their time to do this just because students chose not to use their time studying. So, while students may be inclined to ask for a higher score because it seems easier, maybe instead the EHS student body should think about studying.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 8, 2025
