By the time second semester rolls around, the finish line of high school feels close enough to touch for seniors. College decisions arrive, spring events fill calendars, and the pressure that once defined academic achievements begins to loosen. For many seniors, this shift has a familiar name: senioritis.

Senioritis is often described as decreased motivation toward schoolwork near the end of school, according to Grand Canyon University. Attendance and grades can drop and assignments are completed with less effort or not completed at all, according to Grand Canyon University. Spanish Teacher Mark Bauman has noticed senioritis kick in the second semester, especially in his Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Literature and Culture class, becoming more pronounced after spring break, Bauman said. With many senior-year traditions quickly approaching, students maintaining focus can be difficult, Bauman said.

“I am fighting against a wave of distraction from prom to graduation to all these other events,” Bauman said. “I want to respect students’ time, but at the same time, I’m not going to lower my standards. I teach an AP class, and it’s going to be an AP class until the end.”

Approximately 70 percent of seniors feel that senioritis impacted their academic motivation this semester, according to a nonscientific survey of 312 students conducted by The Oracle. In response to senioritis, Bauman assigns less work outside of his classes, but emphasizes the importance of participation and engagement during class time, challenging the notion that seniors’ final semester should be wasted, Bauman said.

“Senioritis is a stereotype or creation that students all of a sudden don’t care about their education,” Bauman said. “I try to make my students consider the pleasure of learning just to learn. They’ve worked hard for four years and it’s important to finish strong. Don’t ruin that at the end.”

For students, the feeling is often more complicated than simply losing motivation, senior Anna Marsh said. For Marsh, senioritis is tied to a sense of relief after years of pressure to perform academically.

“All these years, we’re told that we have to do good in school,” Marsh said. “In the end, I stopped caring as much, and I stopped putting pressure on myself to care. I got into college. So, what if I have a B in a class I usually have an A in? It doesn’t matter.”

Many seniors trying to navigate the final stretch of school must balance fun with responsibility, senior Ohan Harabetian said. His goal now is to spend more time with friends and enjoy life beyond academics rather than constantly stressing over tests and assignments. However, he recognizes the importance of not completely giving in to senioritis, Harabetian said.

“I still want to hold myself up to a certain standard,” Harabetian said. “I don’t want to let go of school completely. There’s moderation with everything, just don’t let senioritis go too far.”

Senioritis has become so ingrained in the high school experience that it is often treated as an unavoidable rite of passage, endorsed by parents and students alike, Chinese Teacher Hong Wu said. However, Wu urges a shift in mindset to treat these final months as valuable, rather than just waiting for the next step, she said.

“Senioritis is unavoidable, but we can try to minimize it,” Wu said. “It takes the whole community to do something about senioritis rather than accept it. I try to maintain motivation in students by making class more fun, more learning oriented rather than grade oriented. But still, what happens is in the learners’ hands.”

Teaching seniors is both rewarding and challenging, Bauman said. As students prepare to leave high school behind, Bauman hopes they can celebrate their achievements while staying engaged in the classroom, he added.

“I want to celebrate students’ accomplishments with them at this part of high school,” Bauman said. “It’s a privilege to teach seniors and say, hey, ‘we’re at the end, you did it, congratulations.’”