For most if not all students, finals week is the most stressful time of the year. The purpose of final exams is to test students on their cumulative knowledge of a subject. Although finals do not necessarily determine your semester grade or affect your GPA, the culture around them and the “big” 20% they are worth cause unnecessary pressure and stress for students.
I spent the weeks before finals stressing about being able to review all of the units from the entire school year just for the test to make little to no difference. Due to all of the stress of finals, I was not able to perform my best. Most of my final exam grades were by far the worst grades I have received in the class all semester. Not because of its difficulty but because of all of the stressful factors that came along with finals.
The dramatic time requirements and field house seating are other ways finals are made more stressful than needed. This semester, I took an in-class English final and it felt like any other test. It was comforting to hear that I would have the entire class period rather than 60 minutes. It felt more calm and casual, allowing me to perform my very best. This semester, I got an A- on my English final rather than a B last semester when taking the standard final in the field house. In addition, having only an hour to complete one of the hardest tests is frustrating. Students should have at least a full class period to complete the exams.
Administrators and student government should work towards a plan to improve the environment of final exams. Students should be able to take in-class tests and have an entire class period to complete them. Although math and science teachers may have to create new tests for each class, field house testing has become unnecessary and doesn’t necessarily replicate a college final experience.