As the school year winds to a close, students encounter an increased level of stress due to final exams. One could assume that as the summer approaches, students’ stress will slowly vanish; however, quite the opposite seems to be true. Instead of enjoying the warm weather or making summer plans, students are stuck in the library cramming for tests. And one demographic is all too familiar with these elevated stress levels: AP students.

Students who take Advanced Placement courses spend the duration of the school year planning for their AP exam that takes place in May. Most students spend weeks preparing for their specific test, as they hope to receive college credits for the course. As a result, these students spend the final marking period studying for two major tests, AP and their final exams. Therefore, students who take AP courses and participate in the AP test should not be forced to take the final exam for the class.

All of the material covered on the final exam would have also been on the AP test, so students are basically taking the same test twice. There is also a one month gap from the AP test and the final, so they must prepare a year’s worth of material on two separate occasions.

AP students are not the only ones who face a conundrum when it comes to final exams. Seniors are given the opportunity to avoid taking their final exam if they are able to garner A’s for the third and fourth marking periods. While this seems like a fair deal, there are many discrepancies that leave seniors at a disadvantage.

If a senior receives an 89 the third marking period and a 97, they still are required to take their final, despite the fact that their average grade was a 93. If a student receives flat 90’s the second semester, they are exempt from their final even though another student could have had a higher overall average. To fix this error, the school should consider weighing a senior’s overall second semester average to consider exemption.

Finals are an important part of the high school experience, as they prepare students for the realities they will ultimately face in college and further academic endeavors. However, HHS should seriously consider exempting certain students from final exams if they have already partook in an AP exam or if they’re seniors whose average second semester grade equates to an A. If keeping seniors engaged becomes difficult for teachers in the final marking period, an updated exemption policy might be the answer.