Benefits of finals

Let’s be clear: I’m not going to say that finals are ideal—like anything else, they have their flaws. As single tests for each subject, finals allow for cramming and forgetting information and thus minimize the benefits of studying. And the grading of finals can promote stress leading up to and during the exam week.

“The worst part is always the studying for it, and the buildup, and the tension building up to the finals is just very stressful,” Victor Shin (9) said.

But there are a few benefits to finals: they provide a framework for allocating study time to multiple courses, and they promote studying to resolve errors in understanding. And like tests and quizzes, finals can help provide motivation for memorization of information, which can prove helpful in future courses.

As I began to study for finals, I asked myself whether I would review information for my five courses which had finals without the exams looming in the distance. Unsurprisingly, I found that the answer was no. The upcoming final exams were motivating my studying and review. I am not, for instance, studying for my courses which do not have final exams.

Before physics tests, I often look through practice problem sets to prepare myself. By practicing, I gain experience solving problems and can identify conceptual misunderstandings. But the day before an optionally graded physics test, I eschewed most of this dedicated review. I performed worse on that test than I had on those I had studied for—the graded tests had been an important incentive for me to study and better learn the material, and without them, I spent less time reviewing the material I had learned in class.

That’s one benefit of finals and other exams: they assist in balancing time spent studying each subject. On my own, I would be unsure how to ensure that I studied all of my courses to a reasonable degree. Final review guides simplify this process somewhat by providing me with a list of standards to meet in each course, and the motivation of finals and tests ensures that I actually try to meet this standard.

Another benefit of studying for exams is that the information memorized can be useful in future courses. In seventh grade world history, I spent a great deal of time memorizing PowerPoints in preparation for exams and reciting countries and capitals for tests—a seemingly excessive amount of effort. But today, I still occasionally find myself trawling these PowerPoints for information that I remember, and I can still remember a few countries and their capitals. I began to appreciate the foundation I had built for myself through studying when I revisited same eras in ninth grade history.

Similarly, studying for my ninth grade history final will help me next year—in fact, when I take AP World History, I will use the same textbook that I am studying from now. So studying for finals will bring some benefits, despite the drawbacks of the exams—well, unless you’re taking Euro next year, in which case I can’t comment.