By Caitlyn Hale

There is a lot of fuss about whether students at Auburn High School should have final exams or not. There was a survey given to the Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classes covering the topic and the results were about half and half. There were some really good reasons given to have them like, ‘“They determine comprehension on more defined subjects”, “If you do not pass the SOL then you should prove your knowledge by taking the exam”’, or, ‘“You should understand the information and pass the class.”’ Reasons why we should not have them include, ‘“Some people do know the information they just are not good test takers”, “ Your grade should not reflect your knowledge on the subject”’, or, ‘“ It stresses out students to think if I don’t pass the test I have to take another one to pass.”’  There are also people who think they are needed for the simple fact you should prove that you learned something. Some students think that you should not have to take the exam if you are close to passing the SOL in a SOL course or if you have a high “C” or higher in a non-SOL course.

Then, there are the people who want the absence of final exams to be pushed and the people who want it to change anything. There are good reasons for both, some of them pushing to discontinue them are, “Final exams should be required as an incentive to learn the material”, “They should discontinue final exams for non-SOL courses”,  “We should not have to take them unless they’re failing the class”, and  “The issue should be pushed because they should not have to take them if it is only for attendance.” Some reasons why it should be continued are,” It keeps kids in school and keeps them out of I.S.S. and O.S.S because they can skip final exams”, “ Some people should use the final exams to their advantage because it could raise their grade.”, “If you’re not here then you can fully comprehend the subject”, and “It should be there for the students who need it.” There is also the issue of having a good grade in the class but having too many absences. Students also think that they should have them because you have to take them in college and it is just extra practice now, but it should not be counted as heavily as it is now.

Students mostly study for exams more because the exam counts as a lot more for your grade than the SOL. Some students think that the exam weighs too heavily to determine a student’s intelligence. Some people study just for exams just because it shows on college applications.

Some auburn high school students want the exams, to help get them prepared for college, to get their grade up, or for the simple fact it proves you actually learned something in that class. Then the other students at Auburn High School do not want exams, or do not want them in non-SOL courses, do not think it proves your intelligence in that class, or just do not think it is necessary in any class what so ever. What is your opinion on it?