Winter break has just come to an end, and the end of first semester and finals are right around the corner. The idea of taking exams gets students questioning why finals are being given after a long break.
A semester is around four to five months long, and within these weeks, a lot of material is taught to students. Depending on whether or not you are in academic, honors, or AP determines the pace in which these lessons are being taught.
Five months worth of material is a lot to process, practice, and remember. While moving onto new topics as the weeks go on, many students tend to forget what they’ve learned from the start. It’s not completely forgotten, but it can be if it’s not reviewed. As humans, it’s normal to forget things we don’t review in a certain time span.
Winter break is around two weeks long. Not reviewing any work during those days is enough to forget the majority of things that were taught. Yes, students are given a few days to revise, but with wrapping up the last unit, grades being finalized, and studying for finals, it’s really not much time.
Sophomore Kylie McGrogan said, “I would rather take finals before the break than after. When we come back to school after break, it would have been a fresh start for us. It never made sense to me why our school has the finals after. I’ve already forgotten everything we learned, reviewing for each class will be time consuming.”
There are students who work very hard to maintain their grades. They’re also the ones with a busy schedule. A two week break can easily mess this up. Coming back from break would take a little over a week to get back to the academic mindset. The problem would be that there is no time to get back on track when there’s so much for them to focus on.
The holiday break should be a time where you are relaxed and stress free. Knowing that final exams will be coming up soon can disrupt the joyful spirit for many.
Some students will feel the need to study but may keep delaying it for a day more of relaxing. Each day goes by and the thought of not having enough time to prepare for the exam can start to haunt them, forming unnecessary stress.
Finals should be given before winter break so students can have a relaxed break and know that a new start will begin once the break is over. If one has New Year’s resolutions, this new semester can motivate them to push themselves and do better.
