Seniors: Elliot
Having experienced finals week six times throughout high school, the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year was no different. The routine I’d developed over my years in high school was simple: get by in my classes throughout the semester, and then pour the entirety of my energy into finals week to get my grades into a satisfactory condition. Admittedly, this was a somewhat lazy approach and my grades weren’t close to perfect, but I’d gone through this enough times to know. However, there were some changes. A certain phenomenon known commonly as “senioritis” was in full effect, at least for me. I was aware of my slacking and general misuse of my time, but I couldn’t bother to invest a significant amount of time to prepare myself. Having that said, there was a sad, last ditch effort to make sure I wasn’t going to feel completely ashamed about my scores. During this time, I spent around 20 minutes in an hour looking over some review material provided by my teachers, then played League of Legends for the other 40. One could hardly call this a study session, and I was self aware enough to realize this level of productivity (or lack thereof) could have serious consequences in the near future. Despite this, I wasted time into the late hours of the night over video games, YouTube, and instagram.
I wouldn’t say my lazy studying habits during this time amounted to nothing. I took some time to really think about and analyze finals week as a concept. The pros, cons, and changes to the system that have been put into place since my time as a freshman, At its core, I believe that finals week needs to take place in high school to a certain degree. Before you come at me with the pitchforks, I need to stress that I also believe the way it’s being executed currently is flawed. Obviously, some students are better at taking tests than others, and this automatically creates a problem. Beyond that line of reasoning however, it should also be mentioned that its practically impossible to justify weighing finals as any specific percent of a student’s grade. Weigh it as the standard 10-15% that teachers are currently using, and finals lose a significant amount of meaning to a lot of students who wouldn’t really be affected by the outcome anyways. Weighing a final high could prove disastrous for the aforementioned poor test takers and cause wild swings in grades that provide unholy amounts of stress on everyone. I’d like to point out that students who are acing classes literally gain next to NOTHING from taking finals. They’ve already proven to their teachers that they can understand the class content, and since they’re already performing well, their score can only serve to hurt them.
Now, I believe that a certain level of stress is necessary for growth, and North Creek has been able to find a way to (somewhat) regulate stress levels during finals week, through a variety of visiting food trucks and a policy limiting the amount of finals you can have in any given day. Experiencing freshman year in quarantine, the food truck idea came during my first year back. There have been certain criticisms over price, but ultimately the students do end up paying and most would take it over the cafeteria options. The limiting policy is new this year. It’s an absolutely necessary change and I’m shocked that they didn’t implement this sooner. Freshman this year and afterwards will never understand what we had to experience, and I’m personally glad.
Freshmen: Priya
I have only been able to experience finals week once, and I’m in the middle of it as I’m writing this. To be frank, I thought I had it all under control; studying for more than 6 hours at a time, even skipping out on a few hours of sleep. I didn’t realize how much struggle it would be for me to have my grades at a satisfactory level. I have a test every day of the week, even though some teachers don’t call it a final per se, it’s the last ditch effort to get my grades up to where I want them to be. I dislike the amount of effort I have to pour into these finals, but I do understand that for many people, including me, a final is more of a “will I or will I not get my grade to where i want it to be.” My opinion is that finals are one heck of a way to end a semester, yet it doesn’t seem like a bad thing. Yes, it’s stressful, yes, they take a lot of effort, and yes, they may be a big percentage of your grade, but for many students, it’s what bumps up their grade from a C to a B or an A- to an A.
When studying for these finals, it certainly takes a lot of effort, especially in math or science courses, where you have to start all from the beginning in less than a week’s time (or if you’re like me, in less than a couple of days). Starting from unit one, trying to find resources online to help you understand the material that your brain so graciously forgot, forcing you to reteach yourself things that you don’t even remember learning. I’ve only taken one final so far, and in all honesty, I am not the best student. And frankly, I’m not going to change the world with my excellent mind that people will study once I end up, undoubtedly dead. Most people aren’t fantastic students, and that’s okay.
The people that I surround myself with have similar ideologies. Although few, having kept their grades at tip top shape, believe that if they fail their final, they will still be fine. By result, yes, it did do something, and they are currently begging their teacher for a retake. Another thing people tend to worry about during this season is grades, especially for freshmen. The transition from middle to high school is very jarring, leaving us all scrambling to find the light in the long tunnel.
For some, it came easily, having their grades above a 93 at all times. I personally don’t know how they do it, but I certainly admire their skill. Another point that has been brought up, especially around me, is grade point average, better known as the horror flick that was first recorded at Yale in the late 1700s, our deciding factor, the GPA. I hate the idea of the GPA with a passion. It’s not the best way to calculate someone’s intelligence and/or academics, but rather, of determination, or as my friends phrase it: “getting lucky.” Yes, a perfect GPA does take a lot of work, and I admire everyone who has been striving for it and succeeding. On the other hand, it’s the people that take grades too seriously that the idea of GPA harms. I am one of them. Call it test anxiety, call it performance anxiety, but my heart goes out to all those people who have cried over an A-. We have all been there. Then there are others, who supposedly “don’t care” about their grades. I respect them because I can never stop thinking about my grades, and those who are able to just shut off your head and do something that are not assignments are amazing. Especially because as soon as finals roll around they are okay with not getting an A, although their GPA is probably swimming with the angler fish. They are chill, and they always have something that they are extremely good at.
Overall, finals are stressful, and so are grades, and everything academic-related in this psychological thriller they call “high school.” Your GPA doesn’t define you, an A- is a great grade, and finals are only just a stepping stone to your next semester. Finals week is just another week, except this time, there are a lot more tests that are worth a lot more, and you have to put in many more hours. No matter what, finals will never get easier, and to the people right before the final who tell me: “oh, I didn’t study, I’m so scared and stressed out” and end up getting a full score, sleep with one eye open.
