Final exams, in some ways, are a happy milestone. Once they arrive, they signal the end. The end, no doubt, of a long and stressful year filled with late nights of studying, exhaustion, and, in some cases, panic. Often with the culmination of an entire year, however, there’s a lot to cram in. Some teachers will begin to discuss finals within two weeks of the actual assessment.
This dark cloud hovers over students while still studying for run-of-the-mill tests, writing papers, and having nightly homework.
The solution? No classes a full week before finals.
While it is important to learn time management, students in the upper school have undoubtedly already learned this important skill. How are students expected to both learn new material right before finals and then dive into the daunting task of studying for a year’s worth of old material?
They shouldn’t be. Moreover, how are students expected to study for finals when they are in school all day? They shouldn’t be.
Upper School History teacher Mr. Bhelly Bagbanon disagrees.
“From personal experience, there was never a time when I did not have my regular work and final exams in college. The lesson is balancing both. It’s a Herculean effort to do final exams and regular coursework,” Mr. Bagbanon said,” but that’s the game.”
Students should be able to create their own study strategy for the mountain of information required of them in order to do well on these assessments. It is a mini program in and of itself, and students deserve the opportunity to maximize their study strategies and success without the distraction of coming to school and learning new material.
Fourth Former Ranvir Gill said, “The end of [the] year is always the most stressful time for these reasons. There isn’t always a lot of clarity on what will be included in these final assessments. For students who like to plan ahead and create study guides well in advance, sometimes it’s a bit of a waiting game to see what to study, and sometimes it’s closer to the actual assessment than students would like.”
In some ways, preparing for final exams is akin to preparing for an athletic competition or military service. It requires waking up early, consuming brain-boosting meals, and engaging in rigorous drills. Just as soldiers gather all their artillery and weapons before a battle, shouldn’t students have the opportunity to prepare properly to succeed in the “battle” of final exams?