From April 11th to the 15th, Columbus High teachers will be administering their final exams.
Final exams encompass subject materials from the entire school year and makeup 20% of a student's 4th nine-weeks average.
For all classes—except seniors—this will be the first time students at CHS have experienced finals week, which was a routine occurrence prior to COVID-19. Thus, teachers have some tips to prepare for exam season.
"Consider finding a group of students that you work well with and form a study group. The public libraries have rooms you can meet at and are free to reserve," veteran science teacher Mrs. Solomons recommends.
"I have also found that my most successful students rework problems that I have done in class."
Additionally, Solomons has advice on what not to do leading up to final exams.
"The biggest mistake is procrastination, [because it] creates a lot of unneeded anxiety. Several of my students have fallen asleep during exams because they stayed up all night trying to study," warns Solomons.
"I watched one student literally shake as he wrote his answers from all the energy drinks he had consumed trying to stay awake," she adds.
Senior Jake Wang, who has taken 18 Advanced Placement courses during his tenure at CHS, also has advice for studying for finals.
"I would recommend [studying] a week in advance, but if the student does not want to study during spring break, they may want to start earlier. Also don't force yourself to study for long periods at a time. Spreading out the amount of studying and taking breaks as needed is important," he advises.
Along with performance on these exams, students also may be wondering about how to manage the stress of preparing for finals.
"If you get to the point that your anxiety is taking over, stop. Drink cold water. Studies have shown it reduces stress hormones. If your stress level is super high, take deep breaths and remember that you can do it. You’ve made it this far and you can push through," advises Solomons
"Prepare the best you can and be confident that you will do well. [Students] should know that even if they do not do as well as they wanted, they will still have opportunities the rest of the nine weeks to raise their grade," Wang adds.
On exam days, students will attend two 3-hour-long class periods. Their first exam will be administered in the morning, followed by lunch, and then a second exam in the afternoon.
The final exam schedule is as follows:
Monday -- normal bell schedule
Tuesday -- 1st and 2nd period
Wednesday -- 3rd and 4th period
Thursday -- 5th and 6th period
Friday -- 7th period and make-up exams
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