More high schools ditching final exams

deceptacon
Wed, 30 May 2007 05:54:14 +0000

In my school, there’s a mix of “performance-based” assessments in the form of a final project / exhibition at a “Celebration of Learning” event, and regular midterms / finals. Teachers have some discretion as to how their finals work, and there are some automatic-A exceptions, like playing sports for one season (automatic A in phys ed, due to new state laws) or having a top score in a course like American History Enriched. The final assessment grade plus the midterm grade is factored in as a fifth quarter, but the grades are also listed separately on transcripts. In addition, teachers / departments work independently in determining whether their test will be cumulative or only cover material from the second semester.