By Isabelle Chiu
Staff Writer
Although finals are essential to assess students’ knowledge, finals in the second semester should be made optional for seniors who have already achieved academic excellence, a 3.75 grade point average or higher in their second semester of their senior year.
In order for graduation to take place before the end of the school year, seniors take their finals a week or two before the official finals week in June. By the end of second semester, the vast majority of seniors already know which college they plan on attending or what they plan on doing in the future.
Seniors should have the option to forgo their final exams if they are already succeeding academically On the other hand, if seniors desire to raise their GPA above a 3.75, they can ace their finals and improve their grades.
If the students do not meet these requirements to be exempt from final exams, students need to take finals to show their thorough understanding of the subject. Seniors who take end of the year exams should take the full final, not a shortened final since it would not be sufficient in testing a student’s knowledge of the subject. The seniors would still keep the same senior final schedule.
Finals are worth up to 25% of a student’s grade, which make them a major source of stress for students. If the graduating seniors have already demonstrated their understanding of the subject throughout the second semester, it is not necessary to force them to take finals when they should be focused on preparing themselves for life after high school.
Costa should offer seminars on résumés and careers in place of finals. Seniors can utilize the time previously spent studying for finals learning other important life skills.
If Mira Costa allows some seniors to be exempt from finals, it will be sending the message that seniors should care about their academics and emphasize the importance of second semester grades. No finals will give seniors incentive to work throughout the semester. Many competitive colleges such as Harvey Mudd and Wesleyan will resend an acceptance if their grades drop significantly in the second semester.
There are cases of seniors who began to slack off during their second semester because they think that their second semester grades do not matter. The seniors who do not slack off should be rewarded for trying hard and keeping up with their grades in the second semester. Therefore, the option to skip finals should be only awarded to the seniors to work hard in the second semester.
Several other high schools in the United States allow seniors to be exempt from second semester finals if they have above a certain GPA. In Batavia High School, a high school that ranks in the top 50 public schools in Illinois, seniors have optional finals in the second semester. BHS has been doing this for two years.
According to English teacher Shannon Vaughan, finals are a nuisance for both students and teachers. It would streamline the graduation process if fewer students have to take finals. Both teachers and seniors would feel more relaxed in the months leading up to graduation since they would not have to take finals or make a test.
Seniors should be given the option to be exempt from finals if they have a minimum senior year GPA of 3.75 or higher. Instead of taking their finals they use their time better by building essential skills needed after graduating high school.
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