Students should be exempt from mandatory finals

Ending any school year with the test that has a chance to break your grade is very stressful for all students. Especially when this grade is worth 20% of everything you have done in the entire semester. This year has had a lot of time stolen by the pandemic which has shortened the amount of days spent in school. 

The main reason why finals should not be taken this year is because of the outrageous amount of stress that it can cause students. The students have been working hard all year and in most of their classes have been through more projects and short dead lined assignments. The purpose of a final exam is to test if the student has maintained the information learned throughout the year, however, that test should not be worth 20% of the grade. This causes students to not try as hard during the year because they believe they can score 100% on the final exam and boost their grade, however, that is not realistic.

There needs to be another way to test whether or not students have learned anything throughout the year and final exams do not represent the true level of intelligence in a student. A class should not revolve around a single test taken in the last weeks of the semester. . Learning involves more than just passing one test.

Cramming for one test does not help anybody when they are trying to maintain anything that they have learned. The most important thing that a student can do is slowly learn the information and then have it be built into their brains. A single test should not have the potential to erase an entire semester of hard work and dedication.

Although finals are a great way for teachers to measure what their students learn throughout the year, this test should not be given for the sole purpose of a grade. There must be another way for teachers to understand what their students learned such as a similar test that can be worth a completion grade. Final exams are being given in classes where they have not learned the complete set of curriculum, should not be given at all. This seems like making a doctor who is half certified take on an advanced operation.

What students have gone through this year should be considered when deciding whether or not they should be forced into a final.  Although the grades this year reflect how students actually are doing, there is no need for a test at the end of it that can take all of the hard work that’s been done. Motivation, drive, and creativity I have been at an all time low this school year. Students deserve a light at the end of the tunnel as they move on to the grade or even move on to college.