Finals, Finally

Finals are quickly approaching and classes have started to review a semester’s worth of learning. However, most students dread taking finals and spend long nights studying concepts they learned three months ago. Students may complain about their finals and the possibility of failing the test may haunt their dreams, but these tests have a silver lining.

A cumulative test gives feedback to teachers so they can see how well the semester was taught and if there are learning targets that need to be reviewed during second semester. For students, the final provides a way for them to raise their grade at the end of the semester. It is also thought of as a way to reflect the student’s hard work throughout the semester on the final grade, which is also why finals are weighted the way they are. If the student has mastered the concepts, then a final exam should not be difficult. The exam would still challenge students by having them apply their knowledge instead of regurgitating facts.

In addition, finals are used as a method to prepare a student for college. Students need to be ready to take semester exams in college and need to know how to study for those tests.

A final exam may not be ideal for all classes. In some cases, a project or presentation is a better way to measure how much information students have retained from the semester. These types of finals work just as well as an exam because they are still testing students and seeing if students can apply the knowledge that they have learned.

Without finals, classes would continue to cover new material during the time that students would normally be reviewing. This alternative would give students more work and leaves students likely to forget concepts that were taught in the beginning of the year or semester. Finals also provide an easy way for the curriculum to transition into winter break instead of having a unit begin in the first semester and end in the second semester.

Finals, whether they are a test or a project, help students and teachers more than they harm.