Final exams are – or at least used to be, a common practice in high schools across the country. Final exams are one of many methods that calculate how much knowledge a student has obtained while studying a specific topic. At a high school level, this was an excellent practice to prepare future university students for what to expect. In recent years, however, many have questioned whether exams are an effective method of evaluation or not. Because of this, some schools have decided to stop issuing exams altogether.

As a recent graduate of the Nova Scotia public school system, I went through high school during the thick of the so-called “exam debate”. When I was in grade 9, my teachers decided to have “mock” exams which were weighted no more than a standard test. To do this, they were required to make the test fit within the 75-minute window that a normal class period took place. By the time the second semester hit, my teachers were able to get special permission to put us on the “senior exam schedule”. This meant we had the standard allotted time for high school exams and got to go home immediately afterwards. This was huge for my school, as it meant that, unlike students from other schools, we had a background on what to expect when writing an exam.

Things changed when I reached grade 11. Before this point, exams were standard practice for English, Math, and Science classes. On the first day, we learned that the staff at my school were piloting the removal of final exams outside of the provincial assessments. This meant that only students in grade 10 would have final exams. One of the arguments explained to us at the time was the new provincial directive which reduced the maximum percentage weight for exams to 20%. We were told by the staff that the new weights meant that students would almost be guaranteed to see their mark drop if there was an exam. As well, removing exams would also encourage students to study throughout the term rather than just before the final. While true, this failed to account for the fact that exams were used as preparation for post-secondary.

I do see where these teachers are coming from. It is not uncommon to see students cut classes and slack off on tests, even at a post-secondary level. As well, there are classes where examinations are not an effective form of evaluation. A good example of this would be the Business Communications course that I took this term. Instead of an exam, the final project was a group research presentation about the importance of business casual in the workplace. This taught students valuable skills such as public speaking and team collaboration that would be extremely applicable in the world of business. We would not have had the ability to apply these skills on a final exam.

As a first-year university student, I am glad that I had exams in grades 9 and 10. Without exams in high school, I would not know how to study for a final and would likely be extremely stressed right now. With the knowledge of what some exams in university are worth, I cannot imagine how next year’s freshmen will feel when they have finals. 

My takeaway is that so long as universities have exams, high schools should follow. To abolish exams, the university must make the first move. And by the looks of things right now, most universities are not in any rush to move away from them any time soon.