Alas! The worst has yet again arrived at Cornell University: prelim season. From now until the last day of the semester, Cornellians will trudge their way through exam after exam, week after week, just to make it to summer break. Why? How? The unfortunate answer is Cornell’s assessment system: an endless, chaotic, demanding system characterized by a never-ending cycle of stress and mountains of time spent cramming.

It is no secret that Cornellians always seem to be studying for something. As it turns out, many Cornell classes have as many as four prelims per semester. Even those with only two still contribute to an overwhelming workload. Take the average five-class schedule — two classes might have four prelims each while another two have two each, all alongside one essay-based class. That adds up to 12 prelims in just a single semester! This is not just ludicrous but unsustainable. We need a new system, or rather, an old one. Cornell, it’s time to rethink your approach: We need a midterm week.

A midterm week would act as a miniature finals week, where each class would have an exam set to take place within one week. Depending on the course, the assessment could take the form of a sit-down exam or a take-home exam or a paper. Under this model, each class would have only two examinations for the semester: the midterm and the final.

Professors may argue that more preliminary exams are better for students; that way, their grade for the class doesn’t hinge on just two exams, and that one bad day won’t ruin them for a semester. This line of........

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