The immense amount of homework received as a high school student can add up quickly. Specifically, the three weeks of school between Thanksgiving and Christmas, for most students, are the most dreaded weeks of the whole school year.
The reasoning behind this stressful time is that almost all teachers give out a final or a big project in the last few weeks of school. For many, that final test or project can make or break their grade. According to the Honor Society, the constant juggling act of studying, revising and managing time can leave students overwhelmed and mentally exhausted. For student-athletes, this can be especially stressful because, on top of school, they also have to practice every day and are expected to perform at the best of their abilities.
Although most of the student body, including myself, dread finals, teachers are only doing it to prepare us for college. I think both high school and college teachers should reconsider doing finals because though it is traditional, maybe it’s time for a change. It is not fair to the students who work exceptionally hard all semester to get a good grade, then it go down the drain as soon as finals hit. According to GW Hatchet, a grade on a final exam, paper or project in a class shouldn’t have the power to destroy someone’s cumulative grade for the semester.
Plummeting grades are not the only issue, students are also not getting near enough sleep because they are up all night studying for finals. I know I’m guilty of staying up all night when in reality, it is unhealthy. According to the CDC, even one night of short sleep can affect the body the next day. People are more likely to be in a bad mood, be less productive at work and be involved in a motor vehicle crash.
Eliminating finals would be ideal but that is almost near impossible. A good in-between decision that I think would make the majority of the student body happier, would be to spread the tests out so we don’t have them all at once. At least this way, students would have time to study properly instead of cramming everything in one night.
In my experience, cramming for tests in one night is not the best study technique. According to Stanford University, cramming places too much stress on the brain, pushing it beyond its limits. This can also lead to a fearful mindset towards taking the test. When test-taking, being confident usually results in a better grade. From my experience, faking being confident is better than completely doubting myself.
At the end of the day, finals are required. I encourage any students who might be struggling mentally or physically with finals to keep going because there are better days to come. Someday, we might be thanking our high school teachers for preparing us for college finals the correct way.
