This year, the administration decided against having a traditional finals week schedule. This decision is forcing students to adapt and be more individualized. “Finals have been harder to prepare for due to the lack of class time given to prepare. It forces me to hold myself accountable to study for finals at home,” senior Tyler Lauber said.
Instead of making a scheduled finals week so that every class received a 90 minute finals week period, administration is allowing teachers to handle their finals on an individual basis. This formatting has a number of pros and cons compared to the traditional finals week schedule.

“When teachers were asked how many people were planning a FULL semester final, the number was minimal”, Principal Steinbarth said, noting that a traditional finals schedule wouldn’t work. This makes the individualized final schedule seem optimal, since it would be a waste of ninety minutes if the majority of classes did not require it.
“Most teachers were planning to have projects and papers handed in or utilizing the time to give a unit test, so it was decided to keep additional schedule changes to a minimum to avoid confusion by the students and families,” he said.
“My only actual final is in AP Statistics, the rest of my classes are just having a regular unit test,” Lauber said. “Overall, I would rather have a regular finals schedule because it helps me feel more organized and makes it easier to know which classes to study for and when.”
Senior Jake DeGere also said he’d prefer 90 minute classes. “I only have two full finals this year.” he said. “I don’t really like that I have to come in on a Wednesday, but I think it was the best option given the circumstances”.
However, some are on board with the adapted finals schedule. “I absolutely like the Finals Schedule. Thus, students don’t have all Finals on one day. Thus, they can prepare / study for less subjects each day,” Calculus teacher Mr. Smith said.
“I really like this year’s final schedule. It allows teachers to not feel as if they’re forced to have a final, and it helps me study easier,” junior Aiden Stewart said.
The semester officially ends on January 20th, and grades are final by January 27th.