The Finals Countdown

By Colt Antle
    In the last week before Christmas break Pueblo County High School will be taking their finals. Finals are a culmination of everything that a student has learned in their class, put together into one giant test. Every student has to take the tests and every class gives one. These will take place on Dec. 19, 20, and 21. With first, second, and third hour taking their tests on the 19th, fourth and fifth hour on the 20th, and sixth and seventh hour on the 21st. This whole situation can be new and scary for those unprepared and unready. Especially for the freshman, who probably haven’t had to take finals before. 

Two freshman students were asked how they felt about the upcoming finals and if they were worried for them or not. The first freshman, Zack Santiago, answered by saying, “I’m not the most excited for it, but it’s just something that we have to do.” The second freshman,Trent Knox, stated that, “Yes I am worried, I need to get 90s on all of them.”

It isn’t just students that have to worry about finals. Teachers and members of the faculty still have to worry about large tests similar to finals, and at one point they were in the same position as most of the students. Having to cram in hours of class work in the hopes that their studying will pay off, and their grades won’t suffer because of it. A few members of the teacher staff, and two members of the faculty were interviewed on how they felt towards finals, and if they ever had to worry about finals the same way that students today do.

English teacher, Abigail Johnson said, “I think finals are important to demonstrate understanding of content for the semester. I graduated from PCHS in 2005 and the requirements for finals were a little different. Not everyone had to take finals. I think it is important to know how to study and take finals, especially for the students who are going on to college!” 

 Science and engineering teacher, Chris Ludwig commented, “In general, I think final exams are a good way to have students prove that they have learned all the course content for a particular class. I know that they can be stressful, as I remember them being when I was in high school, but I also believe that focusing on coursework for a final exam helps students learn, re-learn, and remember course content for later use.” 

History teacher Joel Soto said, “I don’t think students need to worry about finals as long as they do the right things during the semester. Now, if you have a high grade cause you found ways for that high grade like cheating then I would be worried about the final.  That's just bad karma. If I remember correctly, I only worried about math and science in high school. All other finals I didn’t have to worry about. In college, you are forced to be prepared for finals cause you're paying for it. So, taking in the material throughout the semester would be the smart thing to do, so I didn’t have to worry about finals.”

The person in charge of attendance at Pueblo County, Anna Rottinghaus, answered by saying, “I believe finals are a valuable evaluation tool and learning experience for all students.  Stress and anxiety about testing is very normal and it's important that students learn how to cope with that stress, especially if they are college bound.  I did have to worry about my finals when I was in high school.  I remember very clearly stressing for my senior to sophomore chemistry final.  I studied hard and did ok on the exam.  There is no better feeling than when you have gotten through a stressful time and realized that you are more than capable of handling it.  Students who miss finals or actively ditch them are only doing themselves a disservice.  At some point in their lives they are going to have to take a test (driver's test, certification test, work skills test. etc.) and they will be ill prepared for that experience.”