There has been an ongoing debate on when finals should take place in Iowa public high schools. Some argue before winter break, while others argue for after break. Pleasant Valley has typically held finals after winter break which allows for the first semester to end in January. However, some teachers in the math department have decided to give students their finals in advance.
For the second year, precalculus classes will be given their final a week before winter break. In doing so, the math teachers help students succeed. “Students didn’t tend to score as well on a portion of the exam right after winter break, so we wanted to see if there was a difference in scores if we gave it before winter break,” said precalculus teacher Pam Ancelet. “Last year, the scores were definitely better than in years past.”
One of the reasons scores are improving is because of the early placement. When students take finals before break, content remains fresh in their minds. Students will have recently finished learning the last unit, and they won’t have to wait until January to take the exam. “They also didn’t have a bunch of other big exams to prepare for,” said Ancelet.
Not many students have an interest in studying or learning over the two-week winter break. This leads to students forgetting content and having to quickly reteach themselves before their final. Even though the semester will be ongoing until the middle of January, having finals before the break would lead many students to success. “I like having finals before break because it is less stressful going into winter break,” said senior Kate Fitzpatrick.
In addition, students are typically stressed during finals time, so having a final before break is helpful. It helps clear students’ workload heading into PV’s scheduled finals time.
However, not all teachers have finished teaching the desired material before winter break. This is why most classes have final exams after winter break. Although not all the material has been taught before break, teachers could stop lessons before break and give a final on the material that has been taught.
Teachers must determine how to set up their students for success. The math department has shown, however, that having finals before break proves to be more successful than after break.
