At the end of each semester, students are required to take a big assessment for each class to show what they have learned and whether or not they are proficient. These tests usually have a big impact on the student’s grade. Studies have shown that these tests stress out students AND teachers, especially at the end of the year. But are these tests really necessary and beneficial for the student’s future?
Big impactful tests like these can be very beneficial to students. In an article, Chicago Tribune, it states, “if we didn’t have exams that accounted for large percentages of our grades, students would no longer have the opportunity to drastically change how they do at the end of the semester”. This could support both sides of the argument. Some students, with a lower grade, might be very thankful for these tests so then they have the opportunity to bump their grades back up. However, some students with high grades may not like these tests because they are afraid that it will lower their grade. So should these tests be less impactful on students’ grades?
Semester tests can cause a lot of stress on students. Students have to spend hours upon hours studying for these tests. Not because they don’t know the information, but because there is so much information all packed into one test. The studying part can be stressful, but also just taking the tests. Most of these tests are very long in length or just very time consuming. Not just students, but teachers too. Teachers have to prepare all of the study guides and usually make these long tests. People and students can’t forget that teachers put in a lot of effort into their job into making sure all students have a chance to be successful in life and giving students as many opportunities as possible. And the better you do on these tests, the more opportunities you will have.
Would it be better if we replaced semester tests with semester projects? Projects can be less stressful and can be worked on over time, not in a small period of time. However, some people, like myself, are not very creative. Many classes do choose to do projects instead, however, most classes just stick to tests, especially the core classes. So this could really go both ways. Or like Bruns' classes, maybe semester tests could be group tests. Making it less stressful, but still a test. Personally, I really like having group tests, not to rely on my classmates, but to be less stressed. A flaw could be a student slacking, but maybe their could be rules applied. Maybe if a student is slacking, they are kicked out of the group tests. There are many other alternative options than just big impactful semester tests.
In my opinion, I think that semester tests are necessary and beneficial for a student’s future. Though it may be very stressful, I think that it is very important for the student. However, I believe that these semester tests shouldn’t impact our grades so much. I usually have a really good grade in all classes, but when I take semester tests, my grade always happens to go down. Usually because it is really hard to get a 100% on these tests.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2010-01-14-1001150311-story.html
https://seamannews.com/25481/opinion/are-finals-necessary/
Are semester tests necessary?
Would it be better to have semester projects?
How much should semester tests impact a students’ grade?
Replies
I see where you're coming from these tests are very beneficial for your grades but they do cause a lot of stress on a lot of the students. I also see how it would be beneficial if classes gave final projects instead of stressful and complicated tests, but I believe that in the “Core Classes” the classes that matter most we want to know how well we have learned that subject. So even though the test is complicated we should have to take them so that we are aware of what we need to work on. I also like the idea of taking group tests like in Mr. Bruns's class so that there's a little less stress put on just you, and you can work together with your group to get the answer and a good grade. I think that the impact that the grade has should be smaller because there could be kids that struggle in school and have not-so-good grades. The students could be working really hard studying for these tests to get their grade up and they end up not doing so well on the test so their grade goes down even more.
I agree with you, and there can be many alternatives to these tests such as projects, group tests, ect. However, I don't think they should impact our grade so much. I am thinking maybe having the highest possible percentage of our grade being somewhere around 10% instead of 20%. How impactful do you think these tests should be?
I personally do not agree with you. If you were to have an A in a class, and mess up on the test and fail it, your grade could go down far, maybe even down to somewhere around the C range, which would not be good at all. I was thinking maybe around 10% as the max.
Personally, I am not a fan of the semester test. I think that they are very nerve-racking for the students. I do feel like they are helpful to see what the kids know. However, I feel like the results of the 2nd-semester tests do not show what we actually know because we're all ready to be done.
I can see what you are saying, but I do think that there should be something in the gradebook to end the year off. What about a project?
I think, to a certain extent, semester tests are necessary. I don't think they should effect the grade as much as it does. The homework and the tests we do throughout the school year should be what shows our grade, not some test that compacts an entire semester into one test that, if failed, will bring your grade down significantly.
I agree with you, many people and me are saying that the test should just be less impactful, like maybe the highest percentage possible could be 10%.
I think they should be a thing. It gives us a way to go out strong, or even fail. I do not have a problem with them, but I can see why people can think that there should not be semester tests. I think that they should be worth between 10 and 15 percent of the semester grade.
I agree with you, but I was even thinking lower than 10 to 15 percent of the semester grade.
I think that semester tests are necessary to show that students have retained information from the throughout of the semester. However, I think that all the semester tests should weigh 10-15% at most because there are no retakes. Projects/group tests are nice but it really depends on the material in the class.
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