Are Final Exams Too Stressful?

 

Every year, high school students everywhere become more and more anxious leading up to the culmination of the semester that brings final exams. Almost any student can agree that they have increasing levels of stress as exams approach, but, is this too overwhelming? Are final exams too stressful?

On average, a student will have about 4-5 classes that include a final exam. These classes could be subjects like Math, fields of Science, Social Studies, or English. Usually, these exams are a big deal. A final exam could be worth up to 30% of your grade, which leaves students with the anxiety of potential failure leaving them with a bad grade in a class. Additionally, the pressure of studying for multiple exams across multiple subjects can cause a lot of anxiety in terms of memorizing course content. Sometimes, it feels like there's so much to memorize, and so little time. At some high schools, students feel overwhelmed leading up to the exam due to not having much time to study as a result of other schoolwork. This is especially true for me as a high school student. With the addition of semester grades being due soon, a lot of work tends to be thrown at you the weeks prior to finals. Without time to study for finals because of all the other work, how are you supposed to pass exams for those same classes? It almost seems impossible. 

Is this too much? The answer is a resounding yes. The expectations put on high school students, especially regarding final exams, is a frustrating amount that leaves students extremely overwhelmed. In Cerrito College's Student Health Services, they analyze why students are so stressed during final exams: "The panic preceding finals appears to result from two general causes: distorted thinking about exams and behavioral patterns in preparing for them." A way to understand the issue with final exams is understanding why these things are occurring in students. 

Distorted thinking about exams refers to an unrealistic idea that students aren't adequate enough to preform well. But, why is this? To me, distorted thinking is distorted for a reason. If final exams weren't generally as difficult, students wouldn't have distorted thinking about their exams. Students should feel at least an ounce of confidence in themselves. I mean, they took this course, why shouldn't they be able to do the exam? Because, these final exams are extreme. Not that final exams should be totally easy, but why do they have to be so difficult? Multiple classes, so much material, its basically madness for students. 

Their second example, behavioral patterns in exam preparation, refers to study habits. I'd like to point out this description of a "regular" study habit from the same article: "TYPE A ("Regular"). Concerned about learning the material as well as performing on exams...From day one, paces self through semester with regularly scheduled study and review periods...Usually does not have to cram...Has positive attitude toward exams and professors...Sees exams as opportunities to demonstrate well prepared understanding of material...Gets a good night's rest before exams." This is what they refer to as a regular, presumably, "healthy" study habit. First of all, clearly if students are concerned about exams, they are concerned about learning material. A lack of concern for learning material isn't what causes exam stress, because students are concerned. It's about the pressure to learn the material. Second, "usually does not have to cram" is another thing I'd like to point out. At least in my case, due to the excessive amounts of testing I have before final exams, I barley even have time to study for the finals because I'm too busy studying for the many tests beforehand. The amount of quizzes and tests I have the week before finals is an irregularly large amount, and way too much to also expect me to study for finals. It's unrealistic. 

So, should exams be totally easy? Should schools not have exams at all? Not necessarily. Exams can be challenging, but, at least in my case, I'm basically left with no time to prepare. The expectations put on students to be able to spend hours studying is insane when you take into account the egregious amount of quizzes that, at least I, have beforehand. Quizzes from those same classes. These unrealistic expectations are what cause exam stress. Being a bad studier causes stress, but being overwhelmed doesn't necessarily help study habits either. It's an endless cycle of stress, and putting the blame on students for not being good enough only proves my point that students are pushed too hard. So, yes, exams are too stressful, and they need to be handled with student's mental health in mind. 

Cerritos College, Student Health Services, https://www.cerritos.edu/shs/mental-wellness/final-exam-panic.htm