by Mikayla Somers
Students all around the US are preparing for semester finals. But some many only have to study for one or two finals. Why? If a student has a A, which they’ve worked hard for all semester long, taking a final could only bring their grade down. Some school districts allow such students to opt out of taking the semester final in such a class. I think Atlantic High School should offer that as an option as well.
As a senior, I’ve worked hard throughout the semester to earn an A in all my classes while juggling my homework, job, applying for colleges, school activities, and other outside activities such as 4-H. With Christmas quickly approaching at the same time as finals, I also have to work around early family Christmas’ which fill my weekends. Such a combination leaves me and, very likely, many other students very little time to study for the possibility of up to 8 semester finals.
Although semester tests may be an opportunity of salvation for students with a really low grade, for students who try hard throughout the year to receive an A, it could be their worst nightmare! Instead of trying to keep a well earned A, or even a B, some students just give up. I know students who figure out the lowest grade they could get to keep a passing grade and study just hard enough to meet that goal. Rather than students giving up on working for an A in a class because they now when semester finals roll around their grade will just drop, why not instead give students a reason to try for an A?
I think rewarding students by letting them opt out of semester finals if they have an A would boost their work ethic throughout the school year. I know I would try harder to keep an A in a class if it meant I wouldn’t have to take a major test at the end of the semester! Let’s be honest with ourselves: what student wouldn’t want to skip out of classes on semester test days?