It does more harm than good when students are forced to cram hundreds of facts and tidbits into their heads the night before finals. It is times like these where scheduling can have a crucial impact on student performance. If given more time to prepare and study, it should be obvious that scholars will perform significantly better on their exams. However, based on the 2013-14 academic year calendar that was released in late October, it seems as though Parkway still has not learned that lesson.
Students will begin their first semester finals next Tuesday, starting with their eighth block exam. The following three school days, as usual, will be half days consisting of two finals on each. It seems like a normal schedule at first, but the placement of the exams could not be any more disastrous.
Memorizing four months of material for seven different classes is difficult to say the least. But having to do it in the midst of seeing every class on the two days leading up to the exams and receiving no mental break is nearly impossible. In several classes, teachers take the opportunity to stuff their students’ brains with new material on the modified C-Day in which the eighth block final is taken. Having to then study that new content and all the prior information for the remaining tests is incredibly overwhelming. Students should be given more time to prepare for these finals and, in fact, past scheduling provided them with that advantage.
During both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, first semester exams were scheduled at a much more convenient and beneficial time for students. Their eighth block finals were held on a Friday. Then, with an entire weekend before the next three days of finals, students could spend a solid two days doing whatever they need to brace themselves for the torture that lay ahead. Even though responsible students should begin their preparations further in advance, that Saturday and Sunday proved vital for everyone. Whether used for mental relaxation or one final opportunity to learn important concepts, that weekend is beneficial for all students.
But unfortunately the new academic calendar is nearly a replica of this year’s. Apparently pleased with the results of Late Starts rather than full professional development days, the district has again instituted the system into next year’s agenda. Additional features of the upcoming calendar include semesters that will each be 89 school days in length and Spring Break taking place the third week of March, which is in sync with the vacations of other local districts. Yet despite the benefits the future calendar is set to bring students and faculty, it has failed to bring solutions to its finals schedule, and students will feel the wrath of it during the coming week.
It is evident that Parkway does not understand how helpful that scheduling can be. Next year’s calendar looks to create another unfavorable finals schedule in which students will again be unable to utilize a weekend to get ready. Even most universities have exam schedules in which the first tests begin on a Monday, and it should be the duty of the district to prepare its students for the college experience.
A possible alternative to alleviate the situation could be to switch to an older schedule. In the fall semester of 2007, what would have been this year’s modified C Day was only a half day. Two hours were given to students to use as an academic lab while the last two hours were used to take the eight block final. No matter the solution, the district needs to find a way to set up its schedule so that students don’t have to suffer through finals and can instead improve their performance.
It’s understandable that because the calendar shifts from year to year it is tough to make a schedule perfect. It is tricky to allocate dates for finals while making sure students get out of school in time before Winter Break. But the district needs to at least put forth the effort to make future schedules in the interest of the student body and its academic success.
