What are the differences between middle and high school? High school is more rigorous than middle school because of the more difficult classes, strict grading processes and simply getting used to the different school hours.

It is very challenging to get used to a new schedule, especially since students have stuck to the same schedule for the past few years. High school starts later than middle school. This gives high schoolers more time to catch up on sleep and get ready in the morning, but it also ends significantly later. Students have had to change the time of their extracurricular activities because of how late school ceases.

The amount of workload students receive has also changed a lot. Many upperclassmen have told first-year students that the workload stays the same, but some freshmen disagree.

“Well, I think that we get more work because the classes get harder, ” said freshman Alexa Hernandez-Tome. “You need to actually be doing the work.”

Numerous students think teachers give them more work to complete in high school than in middle school because the classes get more demanding.

“It is more work in general, but you are also given more freedom with how you pace yourself with the work, so if you decide to do an entire project in one night rather than working on it throughout the week, it is all on you,” said freshman Alicia Aldea.

Overall, students agree that they receive more work in high school.

Grading is also different between middle and high school.

“I think they do [grade harder], and it makes sense because in high school, everything is held up to a higher standard, and it holds more weight than middle school grades because they are trying to prepare you for the future, most likely,” said freshman Chelsea Van Baah.

Ninth graders admit that they think teachers make grades harder in high school.

Some differences between middle and high school are significant, and some of them are not. Finding the perfect routine and staying on top of classes seems to be the advice from high school students.