Caption: Freshman students face final exams for the first time in their high school career as the first semester comes to an end. [by Valentina Porto]
By Valentina Porto
The pressure is on for high school students at the Pan American Christian Academy (PACA), submit all their assignments and projects for the second quarter grades, as high school teachers prepare to close up their grade books two days after the Thanksgiving holiday ends on December 2. The reason why it is so early this year is because the high school final exams take place on December 8-10.
On final exam days, students who are required to be there will stay in school from 8 a.m until noon. Each day, two exams are scheduled for each homeroom class. Then, they can head home after lunch to study and rest for the next day’s final.
The important thing to remember about final exam grades is that they are in a separate category from the first and second quarter grades, and they count for 10% of the final semester grade which will be added to their transcript. Even though that doesn’t seem like a lot, finals do impact a student’s overall GPA. Because of that, PACA has a system that rewards students who work hard all semester by letting them earn exemptions from some of their finals.
As a general practice, everyone is expected to take their finals. According to the student handbook, all high school students have the option to take or exempt one or two final exams if they have maintained a 93% grade in those classes and by earning either an Honor Roll or Merit Rolls.
Every time a student gets an Honor Roll for the semester, they can earn one exemption. If they get two, one for each quarter, then they are allowed to exempt two finals. If students earn Merit Roll for both quarters, they are also allowed to exempt one final exam.
The high school class that might feel the most anxious about this process is the freshman class, because they are taking final exams for the first time in their high school career. This is something that freshman student, Rafael Oliveira, thinks about as he prepares for his first final exams.
“I feel very nervous, especially since I don’t know what to expect,” said Oliveira.
Lara Pedrosa, another freshman, is worried about the possible difficulty of some of her final exams.
“I personally believe that finals are going to be very hard, however, depending on which one you take it’ll be easier,” says Pedrosa.
Studies show that test anxiety is a common issue among high school students around exam time. Finals week is not just a sequence of various long tests but exams that cover material from the entire semester. It can be a lot to study in a very short time.
Therefore, an exemption from a final exam feels like a welcome relief from testing expectations. Because of this, there are also special rules for seniors and students who take AP classes. Seniors in their second semester can skip a final if they have a 90% or higher in that class. And students in AP classes who take the official AP exam automatically don’t have to take the PACA final for that course.
Students will normally start preparing one or two weeks in advance according to specific teacher’s lesson plans. In the span of three days, it is possible for students to take a total of six tests, if not able to exempt any. The classes that provide final exams are the core classes at PACA (English, Social Studies, Science, Math, Portuguese and Bible).
Finals at PACA may be challenging, but they are an important part of the academic experience. While the pressure can feel overwhelming, the exemption system motivates students to stay focused throughout the semester and rewards their dedication to learning the class material.
Once second quarter grades are submitted to the school registrar, Cintia Khun, a list of eligible students will be sent to the secondary office and those students will have the opportunity to tell the secondary secretary, Vanusa Abreu, which exams they will be exempting themselves from this semester.
There will also be an additional requirement for the second semester. All students will need to have completed 30 hours of community service before they can exempt exams. This is the last semester in which community service hours will not apply to the process.
