Finals this year will be held in individual classrooms, after traditionally being in the gym every year. In past years, students associated finals with the cold mornings, microphone announcements, seniors banging pots and pans once finished, and serious stress. This school year, moving all final exams into classrooms, the School and administration hopes that this will create a more familiar and comfortable environment for students overall.
Ricky Lapidus, Head of the Upper School, says the idea has actually been in deliberation for almost three years, inspired by other private schools where members of the professional community have worked previously. He noted the gym felt “cold – emotionally and metaphorically”. The administration hopes the shift to the classrooms will make it feel more like “an average day of school, rather than a giant test”, which is planned to make students feel more at ease.
Lapidus states, “An argument raised against the shift among teachers to finals in classrooms was that it may prepare students for testing environments, such as the SAT or ACT. However, standardized tests are not always held in large rooms such as gyms. A tenth grade student at the School, Fiona Hogan, says, “I feel like taking a math final in the gym won’t make you any more ready for the SAT than taking it in your normal classroom. Either way, it is a test that is the same wherever you take it”.
Another possible difficulty mentioned among faculty members was the practicality. “It also requires faculty and difficulty to proctor the students since there’ll be 15-16 students in each room across 30 rooms in the school,” Lapidus says. Despite the difficulties, administrators still maintain these cons are outweighed by the pros.
However, another reason for the change was the difficulty of setup for maintenance staff who put up the decorations, props and stage for winter concerts every day during finals for rehearsals, and the concert the day after finals. Overall, Lapidus hopes the shift will make it easier for students and many faculty members.
Daniela Tang, a tenth grade student, says, “I am excited to see how the new setup with finals will be across all the classrooms. At first, I didn’t really like it. Now, I think it’ll alleviate stress this year, which is great since classes feel more difficult.”
Although many may miss the familiar feeling of finals in the gym with the tradition of pots and pans, and the collective stress, the School believes the new shift is worth it.