Papers and Projects Replace Traditional Exams Amid the Pandemic

Teachers at the School are changing the structure of their finals due to the restriction of on-campus learning during the first semester.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a burden of stress on everyone. Teachers, however, are facing increasing amounts of uncertainty and are not given enough time to sufficiently teach their students to the same level as a normal year. Thus, their original plans for finals must change.

Typically, all high school students go to the gym for a 90-minute proctored exam for each academic class. However, we are unable to do so in these unprecedented times. Giving a cumulative semester exam is prohibited by the School, so many teachers are assigning a project, essay, or unit test instead.

Mark Schneider, US History 10 teacher, is abandoning his typical final exam format, and instead, is giving a multi-step collaborative project that ends with an individual essay that reflects what his students have been learning. Schneider highlights the important factors that played a role in his decision to choose a project over a test, such as, “less teaching time [and] limiting the temptation of cheating.” He also noted his preference towards “something more skill-based, which is best reflected in a project.” Schneider continues to add that distance learning can create huge disadvantages for student’s test-taking abilities, and he feels that “giving a test can be inequitable.”

Laura Galligan, Spanish 4 teacher, is giving both project and test options to her students. Galligan believes that giving students the choice will relieve stress and sufficiently test their knowledge of the material. Galligan’s decision was heavily influenced by the temptation of cheating, which is why she decided to make her final “open book.” This doesn’t mean her students can use translation sites. However, they can use their class textbook.

The School’s students agree with their teachers and believe that projects are the fairest way to assess learning and comprehension during these times. Sophomore and Student Council member Anika Ramaswamy feels that “finals week is going to be even more stressful than before because there are so many uncertain factors, so projects may relieve some of that stress.”

Ultimately, during these unprecedented times, teachers are putting in the time and effort to provide an equitable and appropriate final for their students. As Schneider puts it, “There’s a lot of intentionality going into finals this year, but also some unknowns and experimentation. There are going to be some breakthroughs, improvements, and discoveries that will change teaching for the better, and there will be some limitations that will be worse than they could have been under normal circumstances. Hopefully, we will all be better coming out of this because we will have innovated and changed the way we teach and test for the better going forward.”