Are final exams still worth the effort at CHS?

Sydney Gebhardt, News Editor

Final exams are important and beneficial for a student's education. Due to COVID-19, CHS eliminated final exams for the 2020-21 school year. Although I understand the motive behind terminating them, I don’t believe it should be an occurrence that continues on.

These exams showcase what knowledge students have obtained throughout the duration of their class curriculum. Strengths and weaknesses of students can be assessed through the exams to see the knowledge of the students.

Taking final exams in high school will prepare students for their midterms and exams in college. It teaches students how to study, stay on track and be able to recall information learned. These skills will help students throughout their education and their life.

Student Brionna Landis believes that final exams should be reinstated as well.

“I believe final exams give students something to study for in the future," said Landis. "They can get stressful, but it is a good way to prepare students for college as well."

Students do not realize that final exams cover everything the students have learned through the class and that it is beneficial for their learning.”

Final exams also benefit teachers. Giving students the exam in the beginning of the course and at the end helps teachers see how much their students have learned. Curriculum can be altered support areas of difficulty.

Final exams have many benefits to them. They enhance the education of students and improve teacher instruction.

Lucy Brubaker, News Editor

Final exams are not a necessary part of the curriculum and do not need to be reinstated. These exams are not always an accurate representation of the amount of knowledge a student has gained throughout the year.

In my opinion, I think that teachers should be able to gage how much a student has learned based on tests and quizzes given throughout the semester. A popular opinion throughout the student body is that if a student has an 85 percent or above in a class, the final exam should not be enforced.

Since many students care a great deal about their grades and how they do in school, these exams could cause them a lot of unnecessary stress. This stress could then lead to a grade that is not ideal for them or a good representation of their knowledge.

Junior Valerie Davidheiser seems to feel similarly.

“Final exams are not an accurate representation of a student's knowledge in a subject,” said Davidheiser. “A lot of students find them incredibly stressful, and it is extremely difficult to review every single thing that you have learned in the whole entire semester just for one test.”

Periodically testing students on learned topics would be a less-stressful alternative to an additional large test at the end of the year. This is also a more realistic method of determining how much the students have learned.

Several courses in school are not cumulative and are instead taught in units. Because of this, a cumulative test would not make sense and would cause an unnecessary waste of time spent studying and stressing over a final.