Most Clemson students would agree that finals week is a time of never-ending work and stress. While finals can be a good way to determine one’s overall knowledge of the courses he or she is taking, there are many aspects of this dreaded week that only add unnecessary work and stress to the students who are already starting to panic about their exams.
Cumulative exams put twice the amount of unwanted stress on finals week as a whole. There are a few cumulative exams, for example, some math exams, that are understandable. However, most other courses that have cumulative exams only make the students’ week more difficult. Classes that give a lot of tests or even multiple midterms should not have cumulative exams. There is obviously an insane amount of material that has been covered all semester and the students have already been extensively tested on the material. What is the need in having them re-test on past material as well as the material that has been newly learned?
A lot of professors, due to the way their plans for their classes work out, host regular exams the week before finals. While it is understandable that they are trying to give the students an opportunity for more grades before their final grade is posted, this only puts added pressure on students when all they want to do is start studying for the final which most likely will be worth more of their grade. Students feel pressed for time to prepare for finals and to complete all of their assignments when they are focusing on all of these regular exams the week before. What little time students have left after Thanksgiving break should be solely dedicated to finals week.
A good portion of the population of students at Clemson would probably categorize themselves as not “good testers” which can make them feel like they aren’t smart enough when in fact they may know the material of the course just as well as the next person. Some courses choose to allow their students to write a paper or complete some sort of project as a final, which is a great way to allow students to show their ability to utilize what they have learned throughout the semester. This option really makes more sense all around due to the fact that most of the time in the real-life workforce you are not going to be given written tests to challenge you, you are going to have to demonstrate in a more project-like manner that you are capable of doing your job.
Overall, finals week is meant to be a time where students are able to show their extensive knowledge of what they have learned during the semester. However, this week is one of the most stressful times of the year. While this is meant to be a helpful time for colleges to see the progress of their students, the negatives of this week most definitely outweigh the positives.
