As finals are rapidly approaching, questions are finally being answered about JHS’s ever fluid policies regarding exam exemptions. The current policy for final exam exemptions is that for each red level stamp that a student earns, he/she earn an exam exemption. For the past five years of the Crimson Pride Program, this has been the procedure that has been enforced in our school. However, this year, teachers and administrators had to reevaluate this rule for certain classes which has caused some students extra stress and uncertainty.
As it has been in the past, students who are enrolled in Advanced Placement classes have the opportunity to take an AP course exam at the end of the year. The new policy says that the finals for these classes are mandatory first semester. However, second semester, students have the option to use an exemption for the class final only if they take the Advanced Placement test. This rule, which was thoroughly discussed, was finalized merely weeks before finals would begin.
Because of these recent adjustments, controversy has been sparked among students and teachers alike. These events have caused students to view finals on a whole new plane.
Before, for most, exemptions were seen as a positive reward. The students worked hard all semester in order to earn this privilege. The stress put in to receiving high enough grades would pay off in the end when finals came around. Some, however, see exemptions as a detriment to their college readiness. In college, exam exemptions simply do not exist—students who have depended on exemptions will have to adapt.
This is a major concern for many of the teachers here at JHS. Mr. Chipman, an English teacher, expresses his opinion on the issue of college-readiness. Though he thinks that exemptions are a proper reward, “the carrot at the end of the stick, so to speak,” he also believes they allow “students to bypass pieces of their learning and academic development that are deemed to be important.”
Similarly, several students seem to share this outlook as well. Senior Mary Thorsen says that exemptions act as a comfortable cushion for borderline grades. If one has earned an exemption, he/she can maintain that “A-“grade. Others enjoy the benefits of not taking finals but recognize that there are serious flaws in JHS’s system. Seniors who have become accustomed to this security are nervous for post-secondary requirements in regards to exams. These anxieties have been evoked as a result of inconsistent decisions.
These anxieties are magnified for those students in AP classes this year because they are required to take the finals. Some of these students have previously utilized their exemptions for their hardest classes in order to keep the grade they worked so hard for all semester. Many are worried that the exam will bring their hard-earned grade down. Mary Thorsen notes that “I feel as though it is not my fault I’m unprepared for this final because the system in place allowed me to take only the finals I wanted or didn’t want to risk having a bad grade in, and now I am forced to take a final I have no skills to prepare for. I’m not saying it’s unfair for us to take the exam, but it’s unfair that I’ve taken advantage of a system that hasn’t prepared me and now that system expects me to be ready to take [them].”
This is the mindset of many AP students. They feel that if they had been forced to take their advanced finals all throughout high school, this apprehension would be lessened or nonexistent. This opinion is supported my senior Nich Neeley when he declares, “I would like to see more classes throughout freshman, sophomore, and junior years where the finals cannot be exempted.”
Aside from the lack of readiness that the students have, another complicating factor is the exemption policy for second semester exams. Some think that it is unfair that by paying $90 to take the AP exam, they have the opportunity to exempt the regular class final. Even though the students who choose to take the AP test are going the extra mile to broaden their educational horizons, they still must use one of their prized exemptions to opt out of the test. Teachers like Ms. Arnold argue that since the Crimson Pride Program enforces not only grades, but attendance and behavior as well, AP students should have to use an exemption on it. They must “meet both the universal expectations of JHS and the AP expectations” in order to be excused from the final.
These “universal expectations” of Jacksonville High School do not explicitly say that students are required to take all of the finals for their regular advanced classes. Because of the inconsistent policies and the lax rules regarding advanced class exams in general, college-bound students may be hindered. A school that strives so much to develop “college and career ready individuals,” must alter the rules in order to reflect this. Early on in one’s high school career, exam exemptions are purely one-dimensional. However, as one progresses as an individual with more personal responsibility, the exemptions prove to be a major stumbling block in one’s journey to maturity. If JHS’s policies stressed less “hand-holding” to students, perhaps more college ready individuals would be produced.