Bismarck High School’s current final testing policy is based on attendance. Students have been told if they have any unexcused absences, they have to partake in final testing.  A student can only miss up to two full days of school in a semester in order to be exempt from finals.

Being rewarded with no finals can encourage students to stay in school. Students who receive d’s or c’s in a class don’t have to take a final test if she or he had been in school with perfect attendance. This however is unfortunate for the students who have maintained an A even after missing a handful of days.  A student with A’s and less than perfect attendance are required to take finals.

Staying in school is very beneficial for students and is obviously rewarded. There are many different qualifications for finals; and even if a student has an overall A, those qualifications overrule and the grade is neglected. 

Finals should not be looked at as a punishment, it should be viewed as an opportunity to bump up a low grade. If the student proved their effort through a good grade, they should not have to take an unnecessary test. 

Students are currently available to the option to take a final test even if not required to, this option is very useful to students who want to achieve higher grades. 

Although administrators have good reason to be pushing their requirements, it’s still very inconvenient for students who may have missed 3-5 days of school and achieved a high B to a low A. The average grade in high school is a C, so when achieving a grade higher than the average, it should be rewarded. 

Instead of focusing on absences, tardies and late assignments to determine who takes the finals, we  should be looking at overall grades, GPA, and behavior history. In situations like these, it’s important to out-weigh the bad with good. If a student had a harder time getting to school on time but showed respect and achieved high grades, they should not be obligated to take a final, their good out-weighed their bad. If a student received low grades and did not practice respect but had perfect attendance, they should still be taking the final; because of their bad out-weighing their good.

Finals should be for students who have struggled in a semester and or who need another opportunity to get their grade higher. The policy for test exams should be much more flexible, and the choosing of students for the finals should be more carefully chosen.