Along with the change in principals this year, our school has also changed its final exam schedule. Instead of having half days with no classes, students will be having full days with finals at the start and end of the day. The finals periods will be two hours long and periods four, five and six will be in between finals. This is very different from previous years and adds an interesting dynamic to finals week.

The schedule is a huge change and many students are not happy about having to come to full days of school. What many do not know is that there is a week less of classes as compared to last year.

This past year, Mclean began school a week earlier than they have in the past because of AP testing. They did this so that students would get more of an edge when it comes to the AP test days. Having an extra week of school goes along way. I would not be surprised if Arlington does the same thing in the years to come.  This seems like a step in the right direction for students enrolled in AP classes.

In past years, students have had the ability to skip school on days they do not have finals. This year will be different. Because students will have classes in between their finals, teachers will have the ability to make their fourth, fifth and sixth periods mandatory. It is likely that teachers will realize how few students are showing up and will make their classes free periods. After all, it would be very unfair if students were required to show up to two classes when they do not have any finals. This leads to another possible reform.

Will the culture of final exemptions begin to decrease in magnitude? It could be that our principal’s goal is to make finals periods mandatory in the future. In a week full of stress and cramming, it would be detrimental to start making students come to class on days they have no finals. After all, most students are spending that time studying or otherwise relaxing. Rest is clearly necessary after taking countless exams and without time to rejuvenate it would hurt their grades and their health.

Another addition to the schedule is that there will be no school on Thursday the 14th due to graduation. There will also be an early release day on Friday the 15th, the last official day of school. This day will likely be malattended as students will have completed finals and will not see it necessary to attend. It could, however, be a great opportunity to say goodbye to teachers for the summer.

Overall, the finals schedule is much better than it has been in the past. Students are guaranteed to be done with school on Wednesday the 13th, school ends a week earlier than last year and students have much more time to rest their minds on days that they have multiple  finals. Hopefully many students will be pleased with the changes made and will be happy to start summer early.