As senioritis kicks in, a select few seniors continue to do their homework every night with one clear reason in mind: not taking their final exams. Most high school students would agree that not having to take a final exam is a pretty good one. But when June rolls around, diligent underclassmen are not as adequately rewarded for their hard work.
Above all others, the senior privilege of second semester exam exemptions is coveted as underclassmen cram the night before, only giving up when they accept that they won’t be able to remember anything that they learned way back in September. According to the JC Handbook, the exemption only applies to seniors who have a cumulative average of 90 or higher in a yearlong or second semester course. This rule is not in effect for first semester exams or for any other grade level.
Unlike sitting on a designated bench that underclassmen still sit on daily or playing Frisbee outside on an off mod, this privilege is actually useful. It encourages seniors to keep their grades up during that home stretch of their last semester of their high school career when they only want to think about senior week and the summer that lies ahead.
However, this privilege should not be reserved only for seniors. Instead, JC should try implementing this rule for the entire school. Students would have more incentive to work harder in their classes so they wouldn’t have to be one of the few doing the walk of shame into school for those three mornings of exams.
Not having final exams would be a radical change for any high school, but these tests would be unnecessary if students learned the material correctly the first time around. If they worked harder to receive an A for whatever reason, they should be rewarded by their teacher acknowledging that they already know the material instead of making them prove that they know how to take a test.
The absence of exams would not affect teachers, except for the fact that they would not have a huge pile of tests to grade after Christmas break or during those first few days of summer. Instead of pushing for memorization and recitation, they should be teaching information that can be understood and retained.
Some people, no matter how knowledgeable they are in a subject, are simply not good test takers. Final exams are not always an accurate picture of what a student does or does not know due to the sheer volume of information that students are expected to memorize for each class.
The senior privilege of opting out of second semester exams is a step in the right direction. However, this can be improved even further. There is no clear reason why this rule only applies to seniors, as it should be extended to everyone. Students from all grade levels should have the opportunity to remain in the comfort of their own beds and refrain from taking exams in the classes that they earned an A in instead of wasting time, Scantrons, and sleep.
Cara Reilly is a Copy Editor for “The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com