Final Exams Seem Like End of the World

With final exams finished, Arrowhead High School boomed with all types of reactions towards semester one exams.

First semester was 18 weeks long. According to Skyward, a student’s semester grade is made up of homework completion (typically 10% of a student’s semester grade), quiz grades (typically about 30% of a student’s semester grade), and test grades (approximately 60% of the semester grade).

After 18 weeks of instructive class time, final exams take place. Depending on the course, final exams can be either 20% of a student’s final grade or 15% of a student’s final grade.

This harsh reality leaves students who have scores like 90.01% or 80.02% on the edge of their seats when exams come around. Low grades are referred to as borderline grades. Students who have A-’s or B-’s often go wild over the fact that one test of the tens of tests taken throughout the semester, can be the difference between an A and a B.

With this extra stress on the backs of borderline students, finals become more important due to the fact that they could change their semester grade. Students attempt to study by rummaging through cluttered folders, binders, and notebooks to find the notes from a lesson taught on the first week of school. Students often promise themselves that they will buckle down, and study hard for finals this semester. However, as the dreaded week approaches, students seem to push off studying constantly thinking I’ll get to it tomorrow, I still have a week.

The US National Library of Medicine conducted a study about the relation of happiness and time spent preparing for large exams or tests.

According to the US National Library of Medicine, “The amount of study and tendency for reading are among the most important indices of human growth in terms of potential abilities for achieving a perfect human life and to prevent one-dimensional thinking. Thus, finding ways to encourage students to study is considered essential to achieve a healthy and developed society.”

This statement disproves the common reasoning of most procrastinators. Many times, students will back up their decision to not study by claiming that they are too stressed, or overworked. However, according to the study conducted by the US National Library of Medicine, stress increases with lack of responsibility and punctuality. According to the study, the more time a student spends studying, the better they will perform and the happier they are.

Although exam week can be straining, according to Arrowhead senior Lauren Henzlik, “It’s the week before finals that really sucks, because you know you could still study, but all [students] do in school that week is study so you’re just drained.”

The perks of finals week, sometimes left unappreciated, include being released from school at 10:50 AM (or after your exams for the day are completed) as well as a three day weekend.

Finals are not necessarily an event students look forward to. Final exams can sometimes make or break a student’s semester grade. For those who are clinging to an A- or a B-, finals can be terrifying and stressful. On the contrary, some students with a B+ or a C+ looking to raise their grade, are provided with one last chance to boost their grade.