Finals start two weeks before school ends this year at HW, unlike in the previous years when finals were the last few days of school. Have you been wondering what the teachers are going to do for the last two weeks of school?
There will now be time to look over your finals and learn from them. While this is a plus side to moving up finals, the teachers have to figure out what to do during their class time.
Teachers have opinions on this topic and have reasons behind them. “For students, this might be better because they get to see their tests while the exam is fresh in their minds and they will profit from the feedback,” history teacher, Paul Chenier said [AP style – idk if your supposed to put Mr. and also put history teacher after Chenier].
Other teachers had different ideas for their extra time. [this isn’t an idea for the extra time, it’s just their opinions about it]
“Because we have never had this system before, it is hard for teachers to predict exactly how it will turn out. I don’t know if I like the new way yet because it hasn’t occurred yet. I like change and trying things out and getting the data. I am optimistic about it,” English teacher, Zachary Greenberg said [AP style].
Many students appreciated[don’t swtich tenses] this new testing schedule. “I like being able to discuss how I did on tests after I take them. I believe it’s valuable to know your grade and performance,” Ava Weinrot ’23 said.
There are other pluses [word choice – make more “formal”-sounding] to this change, including having a relaxing time at school.
The last two weeks give you a time to relax with your friends at school, in a non [non-stressful] stressful environment. “[I like having finals] 2 [AP style] weeks before school, so I can relax the last few days. I don’t want to be stressed about tests right before the school year ends,” Elyssia Phillips ’24 said.
Sometimes, you want to be able to look over your tests and learn from your mistakes [Don’t use the second person in journalism]. “I think it’s beneficial for students to have time to look over their tests with their teachers so that they know how to improve,” Spectrum staffer Karen Wu ’23 said [try not to use Spectrum staffers for quotes].
Other students like school to end right after finals, so that they can have a break after their stressful times [word choice. Maybe use “stressful weeks of studying,” instead?].
“I like to have finals on the last days of school because I like to be done with school after finals instead of having it drag on,” Grace Belgrader ’23 said [Definitely don’t use two Spectrums staffers in one article].
The last few weeks of school, without finals to think about, give the teachers a chance to do a creative, fun project, in addition to continuing work or possibly doing a free read.
“We will be preparing for our model UN [United Nations]. I won’t be giving any more tests or teaching new material because we will be preparing for our culminating activity. The two weeks gives you an opportunity to do something creative in class,” Chenier said.
If the school continues with this system, next year teachers will have more time to think about what to do with their [the “remaining” or “extra”] two weeks. “If this becomes something we do more in the future I will think differently. Next Year [lowercase], I might do a student selected read because I feel that is very important. This year we have it mapped that there is still work to do. The essay/test will not exactly be a final, but where we are then. After the fact, I think we are going to close with something more project based [project-based], but there will still be more work,” Greenberg said.
According to [a] survey sent out to the middle school with 251 responses, 57% [of respondents] would rather have finals two weeks before school ends and [use “, but” or “, while” instead of “and” to highlight the contrast] 43% would rather have finals the last few days of school. Students are excited for this change [This sentence is considered editorializing].
According to the survey, many students like the idea of being able to have time to be with their finals at school.
[insert quote from the survey here].
