Year ‘final’ly ends with pointless grind

Throughout this school year, there have been a number of inconsistencies across the board. Finals season is now around the corner, which brings with it more inconsistencies and stressors. Numerous teachers have announced that their form of a final exam could be presenting itself in the form of a project, test, presentation, or even no final at all. The scattered forms of finals are prone to stress students out even more, considering their brains are being picked in more ways than one this time around. When understanding this year’s assessments, one must ask if finals are truly worth it, when taking into consideration the amount of unique situations that have arisen this school year. Days at school have been quite limited due to hybrid learning, all virtual, and numerous students continuing to be quarantined. So, in actuality, how can students be expected to produce stellar exam results after all they’ve been through academically?

Both students and teachers have experienced their fair share of frustrations in learning this school year, and despite the amount of teamwork, both parties still carry quite the burden. Students have been forced to become makeshift teachers when attempting to learn brand new concepts while isolated at home, and many students are still falling behind in their studies due to difficulties in learning, motivation, or simply maintaining comprehension of the material. Additionally, teachers have been cramming in as many important presentations, projects, or labs as possible before the end of the school year to make up for lost time. With these points in mind, this should stress the importance of classroom time, and a sturdy understanding of class material. Moreover, this could suggest the idea of altering this semester’s finals, and using the extra days as extensions of whatever each class had been previously working on. 

When it comes to numbers, many students would not normally be taking these semester finals because the majority of juniors and seniors are able to test out of multiple subjects due to the ACT, ACT Aspire, and the Wisconsin Forward Exam. Classrooms would then be functioning testing rooms at (generously) half of the normal capacity of a regular classroom. This means that students who typically score higher marks academically will no longer receive a break from the busy workload, as this brings heaps of studying. A number of students produce an exam result similar to their average grade in a given class, which would blatantly mean students are undergoing the motions of preparation all to receive neither a better, nor worse score on their semester finals. Equally important to mention is the overall value a semester final encompasses. A typical semester final is worth ten percent of the student’s overall final grade in a given class, which means a grade such as this one does not hold the power to greatly impact the student. Passing a semester final can most definitely have its perks when it comes to boosting final grades, although it unfortunately is not all that monstrous of a change. 

Considering these points, it would seem universally beneficial to not proceed with spring finals this school year. Too many aspects of learning have been hindered in ways that make it simply feel unfair to challenge students with yet another burdensome test. In the best of times, such tests feel arbitrary and unnecessary; in these worst of times, they sting like an unnecessary and redundant reminder of a year-long struggle. 

By Morgan Reitz

Oshkosh West Index Volume 117 Issue VIII

May 27th, 2021