As the school year comes to a close, students are worrying about their final exams, an exam that is worth so much of a student’s grade. Students shouldn’t have to worry about their finals; it should just be another test, essay, or whatever a final is. Unfortunately, finals are worth anywhere between 10-15% of a student’s grade here at Bishop Manogue, and it’s time to think about why it’s worth so much. It shouldn’t be worth so much and here’s why.

First, finals can absolutely ruin a student’s grade and the thought of this can put students under an insane amount of pressure and stress. This can then lead to anxiety, sleep deprivation, and an overuse of the student’s brain to try and cram everything they learned throughout the semester for their one final. If finals aren’t worth so much, students can try and actually understand the material for the final instead of worrying about how it will tank their grade.

I also believe that finals shouldn’t be worth so much because it’s not fair to make such a big part of a student’s grade something that they just have to memorize. Memorization for a final is a good way of studying, but the student has no understanding of what they memorized. The student just memorized it to try and get a good grade on their final. This isn’t what learning is about. Your grade shouldn’t be determined on how much you remember during a timed exam. It should be about your actual knowledge on the subject.

I also believe that some students perform way better than others under stress which is great for them, but most students don’t. By making the final worth less, teachers might be able to understand what their students know and don’t know with absolutely no pressure on their students. Make the final about the understanding of what they learned throughout the semester instead of their grade.

In conclusion, I think Bishop Manogue should make the finals worth less. By reducing how important finals are for grades, stress can be relieved, students can focus on learning instead of memorization,