Downsides of finals

At the end of the year, students look forward to summer vacation. However, before the three-month long break, students must also study and prepare for the finals. Before winter break, I studied non-stop for days, trying to review all the material from the beginning of the year for finals.

By far, the hardest subject to study for was physics. Physics, unlike any other subject, forced me to attend extra help several times to understand the material. Even on the day of the finals, I had to come in early to make sure that I understood every formula and concept.

According to Joshua Hung (11), another problem with finals is that they can have negative impacts on semester grades.

“Finals are pretty much bad because if you do badly, then you might lower your grade to a different letter grade,” Joshua said.

The main negative effect of taking finals is the stress. I often find myself staying up late while studying so I lose sleep. As a result, the next day, I cannot retain much information in class. Many students find finals difficult to study, because they must review material from much earlier in the year. When I review for french, I must remember many vocabulary words as well as the numerous grammar rules, making french  my one subject that requires the most memorization skills. However, by studying more, I have difficulty remembering. By next year, I will probably have forgotten most of the terms taught to me.

“It’s really hard trying to relearn everything, because I forget a lot of what I learned before,” said Pooja Kini (10)

Finals are not the only way to assess a student’s growth. Finals compile information from a span of four months into a single test, thus causing stress and panic. Instead of a one large test at the end of the semester, it is also possible to give a different assessment throughout the school that is separate from test and quizzes. By giving this sort of final, it moderates time schedules and balances everything out.

“I think that there would be better ways to have some kind of long-term portfolio-type assessment that could be more reflective of the quality of work and the growth that you show over the course of the year,” said English teacher Andy Wicklund.