This year’s final exam schedule was released earlier this month, with End of Course (EOC) tests beginning on May 26 and final exams starting on May 31, the Tuesday after the Memorial Day weekend.
Finals for English 10 and Biology EOC testing will take place on May 26. Biology EOC exams will be administered on May 27, along with Math 1 and Math 3 finals. Teacher made exams and CTE EOCs will start on May 31.
Students will take their first period’s exam on May 31 and will have an exam the following school day that corresponds with their next class period. June 9 is scheduled for a makeup test day and will also be the final day of testing.
Exams will count 20 percent of students’ yearly grade.
Teachers who do not teach a class with state-mandated end-of-year state tests have flexibility when it comes to finals. A student’s final exam can take the form of a test or a project.
“Since the state got rid of the NCFEs, more classes, including mine, will now have exams or final projects created by the teacher, which I like a lot better,” history teacher Anne Beichner said. “Teacher-written exams can be tailored much more directly to individual topics that we may have covered in class. I also like being able to do more targeted review with my students, instead of having to review every single item in the curriculum.”
As final exams grow closer, teachers and students have begun to shift to reviewing material they’ve learned over the year rather than learning new content.
“I structure my classes to consistently review the skills students will need for the exams. Despite this, towards the end of the quarter, we will dedicate a week or two for some formal review to reiterate the strategies, skills, and tools they have been using,” English teacher Jordan Kroll said.
Still, there is some nervousness within the student body about final exams. Due to the pandemic, finals were canceled in 2020 and made optional in 2021. This year, however, final exams are once again mandatory.
“I feel a little nervous since I and many of the seniors haven’t taken a class exam since our freshman year,” senior Jadyn Malawski said.
Many students are finding ways to ready themselves for their exams, but some students have never taken a final and said they are unsure how best to prepare.
“I’m planning to do a lot of studying before final exams start, so that I don’t have to feel super stressed the night before the exam. Since I haven’t ever been in this situation before, though, I’m not exactly sure what the best plan is to prepare for the exams,” junior Emily Kilgallen said.
The exam schedule does, however, prevent students from having to take more than one exam each day.
“I think our administration came up with a great exam week schedule this year, which should give students plenty of study and review time to focus on one exam per day,” Beichner said.
