Can we talk about the whole finals setup for high school students? There has to be better ways to test their knowledge than forcing them to cram everything they might have learned for seven or more classes within a week and forcing them to take these super-long tests. These kids aren't learning anything by doing this, they are stressed out and miserable, kids who have text anxiety always perform poorly. After it's all over, the kids forget everything and just have a feeling of dread.

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It would help if it were application and not memorization. I always allow the kids to use their notes and handouts. We review the concepts, but with ELA these are skills they’ve used all year.

likesmart

Me too. I hate “memorization” tests. They simply aren’t effective or measure learning.

If students are meant to have a certain set of skills before progressing to the next grade, why shouldn’t they have a final where they are required to demonstrate those skills?

likesmart

If we design a system so that students can't fail, we are setting them up for failure later. Students must be put under pressure. They must be pushed to some limit where there is a full array of outcomes. Some students will strive hard and succeed. Some will barely scrape by. Some will come up short.

Each will learn something about themselves. Each will learn about their capabilities, their strengths and weaknesses, and what is required to excel.

The resulting grades will impact their future choices. Some will have doors open to competitive college while some will be restricted by a record that does not indicate success. The underlying reasons do not matter that much to the gatekeepers at the next level. They just need to know who is prepared for the academic rigor of their programs. Why should we worry about making things difficult?

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Many of their future courses, whether for university or trade school, will have a final exam or a certification test. As teachers we take the PRAXIS, lawyers take the Bar, etc. As much as I hate that fact, kids still need to have major testing experiences to build that skill.

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It would take about 8 hands to count the number of cumulative finals I had.

It’s not about the test in the end. It is about setting them up for a test- incremental process. I am not a fan of tests that do not assess knowledge per se but the skills and tools of life like writing, critical thought, debate.

We all do it differently but assessment is important. I use it to establish organization, time management, perseverance, and identifying the skills students need to work on and skills where they excel.

likesmart

I don’t give a final, per se, because as an ELA teacher, there are high-stakes papers all along the way. And a final testing on subjects like characters from three books ago is pointless. But, I don’t think that high-stakes testing for some classes is worthless. In classes where kids are pointing toward college, and some other post-secondary jobs, it’s a good thing. If I were teaching say, welding, I’d have the kids show me all the skills from the class they have learned—one shot to do it right. In my case, it’s a last paper requiring them to analyze a text using skills they’ve learned all class long. In both cases, it’s high stakes given there are no retakes, but it’s not the traditional fill-in-the-bubble or short answer.

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Preparing them for college and higher ed after that. 🤷‍♀️

likefunny

I think finals for HS classes are pretty pointless. You're not preparing kids for college because a HS final is not the same as a college exam.

It's different for a dual-credit or AP class, but for the average class you're designing a final that's accessible to all students, including the 2/3 who aren't going to college.

I think it should be left up to every individual teacher to decide as they see fit.

likesmart

Your innocent typo, “Text Anxiety“ pretty much sums it up. 😂😇 The struggle is real. Enabling students to think they don’t need to struggle to succeed is going to pull the rug out from underneath this country. Oh! Too strong? Okay, who will be qualified enough to take care of you in the future?

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Illinois,

I think it’s more the concept of anything that is either difficult, challenging, or anxiety causing is getting criticized and reduced across the board. Tests and finals just being one example. Homework, 0%’s, not accepting late work, and discipline among the others. And when you add up all the things being reduced and simplified to not challenge or hurt feelings, you have the problem of grade inflation with no actual learning and growth taking place. How can GPA’s skyrocket but test scores fall year after year compared to past generations and current generations across the globe?

likesmart

We don’t do final exams here—at least not in my district.

We give a skills test not a memorization test. We have 2 days of finals. We’re on block schedule so we do 1/2 period finals and then 3/4 finals. Both days are 1/2 days.

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