For more than 15 years, students were offered the opportunity to exempt, or opt out, of a number of final exams. There were particular guidelines and standards that came with the privilege to exempt end of semester tests. Based on absences before that grades, students would strive to keep their grades up and absences down. Unexpectedly, the school eradicated the exemption policy, forcing every student to take all of his or her exams. The administration should rethink eliminating the exemption policy.

Recently, the exemption policy was based strictly on attendance. The number of absences a student had determined how many exams he or she had to take. It was incentive; students were reluctant to stay home for small reasons. Yet, if a student came down ill, the policy allowed a doctor’s note to excuse the absence from counting against him or her. When students come to school everyday, the school receives money at the end of the year; this refers to ADA (Average Daily Attendance) When the policy was taken out, student mindsets changed to that of not caring about absences. Without the constant shadow of exemptions at the end of semester, students are not as likely to make it a priority to keep a perfect attendance.

With the new policy, students now have to take eight exams at the end of each semester. Each class gives an exam or assigns a project large enough to count as one. Each exam makes up 10% of the final semester grade, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the student to do well.  With just a few days to study the material before test day, cramming the night before is likely, yet unnecessary. Students who work or have adult responsibilities simply cannot study for eight tests within three days of each other adequately. It becomes unfair and slightly ridiculous to expect them to do so when the previous policy worked just fine.

The argument for the change was that students do not receive the opportunity to exempt college exams in the future. By making the tests mandatory, students will be prepared and ready to face the college exams. This seems a little farfetched as it is due to the fact that college students are tested at a much higher level than high school students. The material goes much more deeper and asks students to think at a college level, as it should. Making the high school tests mandatory does not necessarily prepare students for college tests.

Taking away final exam exemptions does not solve a preparatory problem but simply creates new issues that outweigh any possible pros. Students should be allowed the privilege to exempt at least four exams out of all eight classes. Emphasis should be placed on the term privilege so that students who make an effort to come to school and keep their grades high will be the ones reaping the reward.