Advanced Placement testing takes place at North Campus during the first two weeks of May 2024. During the two weeks of testing, the passing period bells were disabled at North Campus, according to the morning announcements.
“I like that we get to leave class a bit early sometimes because teachers forget when the class is supposed to end,” says senior Eden Harrison.
Standard classes are 40 minutes and the class schedule can be found on the Arrowhead website.
“I don’t mind the lack of bells because it is helping the students who are testing, but I do find it a lot harder to keep track of time,” says senior Anne Weisbrodt.
Over two weeks, Arrowhead Union High School proctors 21 AP exams. Between one and three exams are held each day of the two weeks. Tests are divided into morning and afternoon exams, according to the Arrowhead website.
“I don’t like that I keep getting confused on when to go to class especially on Wednesdays with the shortened schedule,” says senior Emily Matson.
On Wednesday, all classes are shortened by two minutes and students get out 20 minutes earlier, according to the schedule on the Arrowhead website.
“If there were bells I would have gotten distracted from writing during my exam,” says Harrison.
According to Medium, many schools are permanently eliminating bells in order to allow students to have more control of their learning and get used to life outside of the classroom.
“I have enjoyed visiting schools that do not have bells that signal the beginning and ending of classes. In those schools, there is a more fluid approach to the day, and students report to where they need to be, when they need to be there, and for as long as they need to be to accomplish their academic goals. This personalized approach allows students to take ownership for their learning,” says business teacher Kathy Wagner.
The schools that have removed bells were in the Pewaukee and the Kettle Moraine School Districts, according to Wagner.
Next year, Arrowhead will continue to use the bell system, according to North Campus Associate Principal Becky Gordon.
“I like that the atmosphere feels more calm and less rigid without the bells, but getting used to not having them to remind me when to change tasks is difficult . . . I think most of us have been conditioned to operate like Pavlovian dogs as we go through our days being scheduled all day long, down to the minute,” says English teacher Katie Herrmann.
