Final exams are a big issue in school because they cause anxiety, stress, and do not accurately display the students’ understanding of the course.
With less than a month left of the spring semester at Long Beach City College, finals are likely the biggest thing on every student’s mind.
Anxiety and stress resulting from school is never a good thing and yet most students experience some form of it when they are faced with important tests.
Multiple national studies have found that stress is one of the leading causes of poor scores on tests, making this a major issue for those taking final exams.
This stress and pressure largely comes from final exams’ effects on students’ scores as these tests can be worth 20 to even 30 percent of their final grade.
One test drastically affecting students’ final course grades is a problem as it places too much power in one singular test and not as much on the hard work of the student throughout the semester.
Since final tests are often cumulative, students are potentially losing much needed points on topics they learned about three months ago.
The common response to this argument against final exams is to blame students for not studying enough or for not developing good test taking skills, but at a community college there are many students with unique hardships in their life that don’t make school so simple.
Many students have to help take care of family members or work multiple jobs while going to school just to support themselves which can make studying for hours a week impossible.
Community college should be a place that gives everyone the opportunity to succeed, even those who have many responsibilities outside of school.
The best solution would be to standardize grading and make final tests worth 10 percent of students’ grades or at least equal to other exams in the class.
This change could improve students’ wellbeing and mental health while still making the final test something important for them to take.
Students can show their support for this change by emailing or messaging the California Department of Education and telling them there are better ways to show students understanding of materials.