This semester, several departments have opted either to administer curricular final examinations in class or to add an in-class component to exams normally scheduled during Regents week, which spans from Tuesday, January 26, to Friday, January 29. Students currently enrolled in AP Calculus AB (MC1X), AP Calculus BC (MC3X), Multivariate Calculus (MC5), Calculus Applications (MC1), AP Statistics (MS1X), Economics (H8), AP Physics B (SP1X), AP Physics C (SP3X), AP Chemistry (SC3X), AP European History (H3GX), Regents-level Global History 3 (H3G) and Regents level American History (H53) will be taking an in-class final, contrary to what has been done in previous years. Other students, like those enrolled in Health Education (PHA), Regents level Physics (SP1), Honors Physics (SP1H), Regents level Chemistry (SC1) and Honors Chemistry (SC1H) are required to take an in-class written portion of the final in addition to the normally scheduled examinations during final exam week. Teachers will determine the content of exams not given during Regents week, which may or may not be cumulative.

According to Principal Stanley Teitel, the idea to make finals in-class this term was brought up at a cabinet meeting, which included Teitel and all the assistant principals (APs). Teitel has not yet decided whether or not the policy change will be permanent. “We’ll try it and see how it works out,” he said.

Although the idea was brought up at a cabinet meeting, the final decision of whether to move finals in class was left up to the APs of each department.

Several factors influenced APs to make this policy change, including logistical issues of time allotment during finals week, concerns over cheating, the difficulty of finding proctors, and the opportunity for teachers to tailor in-class exams to their own curricular emphases.

“I think there is an overwhelming sense that the week of nothing but finals is burdensome on both students and teachers,” AP English Eric Grossman said. “Cramming two or three finals into a day at the very, very end can feel overwhelming, can feel like not the most efficient use of time. So we wanted to try doing it a different way.”

“The AP Physics finals have been moved to before the finals period because we don’t have enough time,” physics teacher John Avallone said. “It’s just a question of logistically fitting everything in.”

AP Health and Physical Education Larry Barth agreed. “Some teachers in the department expressed concern that students would have difficulty answering 80 multiple choice questions and writing two essays in the hour they have during finals week,” he said.

According to several APs, having in-class exams may also serve to curb academic dishonesty in the test room.

“That’s not my primary motivation, but [...] that was something that was on my mind, that exams got out last year,” AP Social Studies Jennifer Suri said. When asked how having in-class exams would reduce the likelihood of cheating, Suri said, “It’s not just one test. There are several tests.”

“I suspect that in most cases it will reduce the likelihood of kids cheating. Teachers are simply more equipped to deal with proctoring their own department’s finals for a lot of reasons. They are more invested in it, they are more knowledgeable, so if questions arise they can be much more helpful to kids taking the test,” Grossman said.

“I guess I pay a little more attention when it’s my exam to my students, and of course they get the benefit of having me in the room, so if they have a question about one of the questions I can answer them immediately,” Teitel said.

Some teachers, however, do not believe that academic dishonesty was a major factor in choosing to administer in-class examinations. “I don’t think that [cheating] motivates why we’re doing it,” Avallone said.

Having exams in class also eliminates the need for as many proctors during final exam week. “It can be frustrating to be asked to proctor other people’s, other departments’ finals, especially when some departments handle all the student assessment by the end of the semester.” Grossman said.

According to social studies teacher George Kennedy, not having to proctor “allows more ability to grade exams [...] during finals week,” he said.

Teitel cited another benefit of in-class finals written by the individual teachers. “If I happen to spend time stressing a particular item, I could put it on the final, because I would be the one writing it,” he said.

“The students get comfort from [knowing] ‘I’m going to be tested on material covered by my own teacher,’” Suri said.

Regarding the chemistry and physics department’s decision to include in-class written portions in addition to finals already scheduled during finals week, which would not eliminate the need for proctors during final exam week, chemistry teacher Kristyn Pluchino said, “I’m guessing it has something to do with Writing Across the Curriculum. [...] We like the idea that students get to write instead of bubbling in answers to questions, so we can see that they actually know stuff instead of recalling random facts.”

AP Chemistry and Physics Scott Thomas and AP Mathematics Maryann Ferrara declined to comment.

Many students have been supportive of the move.

“It’s a great idea, as it adds another dimension to the test and allows the teachers to assess real understanding of the material and their students’ ability to articulate it, ” junior Colin O’Connor said.

“It is logical that each teacher, while following the same curriculum, can end up teaching different details and specifics, and therefore only they know what exactly their students can be tested on,” sophomore Liam Downs-Tepper said.

Others see the move towards in-class finals as a negative step.

“I would prefer if the physics final was entirely during finals week, so I would have more time to devote specifically to studying physics, as opposed to having to worry about other classes’ homework on the night before I take the in-class written part,” junior Matteo Battistini said.

Some students are stressed by the fact that they have multiple in-class finals in one day. “It’s putting all the pressure into the week instead of allowing us to deal with it during finals week, when we have time. Because in class it is a hectic schedule, with all the other tests,” sophomore Mick Zloof said.

On the other hand, some people find that having the finals over a two-week period will encourage students to spread out their studying instead of cramming.

“It will encourage them to not sit there and cram the day before the test,” Pluchino said.

Teachers will decide whether to continue the new final exam policy based on the results this semester. “It’s experimental,” math teacher Gary Jaye said. “We’ll see how the teachers as a group feel how accurately the tests assess the students.”