Should Schools Remove Final Exams?
Do the benefits of final exams really outweigh the consequences?
Finals. Also known as one of the most dreaded moments in a student’s academic career. Finals week accumulates all the scholastic knowledge a student has learned over the course of several months and combines it to create difficult, mind-bending tests. As the stress in students’ lives increases, the controversy around whether or not finals should stay or go becomes more heated. In all honesty, finals should be removed from schools.
Although finals seem fool-proof to examine a student’s understanding and weak points, they take an incredibly large toll on a student’s life. Students face tremendous amounts of pressure as these exams can determine their grade and academic future. In addition to studying for finals, students have to maintain academic proficiency in school work and extracurricular activities, creating an overwhelmingly stressful environment. All the responsibilities combined can do more harm than good — instead of showing their real knowledge and potential, students risk failing the exams because of extreme pressure. Besides, students are regularly tested in a series of exams during the school year, so there is no significant necessity for finals.
Finals are the last exams that a student takes and the last grades put into final semester scores. This means that there is no going back and no possible way to change the final grade. This limits the capability of students by not allowing any more room for improvement, demotivating students, and prompting them to lose academic stamina. Moreover, finals are worth a large percentage of a student’s grade, so the difference between a whole letter grade could be in the hands of the final. If students do not perform well, even though they have aced their previous tests throughout the school year, their grades can plummet greatly. Final exams do not portray an accurate representation of a student’s knowledge by their grades.
Students already have so much on their plate, and finals just add extra stress, worsening mental health and academic abilities. Although these tests may portray a student’s knowledge, they more likely cause students to receive poor scores because of the pressure that comes with the exams. In addition, finals are worth too much in a student’s grade; thus, they are sentenced to a bad final score if they are not able to perform well, impacting their scholastic future. Final exams should be removed by schools altogether as this can greatly improve the grades and lives of numerous students.
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