For the 2023-24 school year, Delaware Valley has changed their policy on finals exemptions.
Throughout the last five years, Delaware Valley has provided all students, regardless of grade level, the ability to earn the privilege to not take their final exams. In order for students to not take the final, they had to obtain at least a 90 in all four marking periods of the course. This school year, exemptions are only an opportunity for seniors.
In order for a senior to earn an exemption, they must meet the discontinued policy’s grade requirements [mentioned above] or have received a passing score on their NJGPA exams. The New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessments were taken in the spring of their junior year.
This policy change was made because the Delaware Valley administration and curriculum advisors reflected on the old practice and felt that all exams that are administered have value, including finals. A cumulative assessment, like a final or midterm, gives students exposure to a test that covers a large area of content. These types of exams will be present if students choose to continue on to higher education.
These tests can also show how well instruction took place. Results from final exams give teachers insight into what knowledge was absorbed by their students. They can also show what areas of the curriculum may need to be taught using different methods in order for them to be grasped better.
“I think that being exempt from finals gave me, as well as other students, motivation to do well. Now that we don’t have the exemption, it kind of feels like our hard work is pointless.” — Junior Ashley Culberson
Similarly, students who obtain high enough grades in their courses to be exempt from the final are most likely to have the best performance on the test. The school feels that since a demographic is missing from their data, the conclusions they draw from the scores are not entirely accurate or representative of each class.
Additionally, Delaware Valley came to a realization that final exemptions may actually be doing more harm than good for their students.
“We have a significant number of students who have gone through Del Val for four years who have never taken an exam [final or midterm],” said principal Michael Kays. “Those students performed very well throughout the school year…so they’re typically the students who are on track to go to college. If we’re saying exams prepare you for college, maybe we were doing a disservice to them by not giving them that opportunity.”
Naturally, many students have not embraced the new policy. First year Delaware Valley students are very disappointed by the change. They feel left out of an exciting opportunity that was never available to them.
“Everyone else got to have it [the exemption policy] before, and it was very beneficial,” said freshman Abigail Simpson.
Sophomores and juniors are frustrated with the new policy as well. They have had the experience of final exemptions for their entire Delaware Valley careers and weren’t expecting for it to be eliminated.
“I think that being exempt from finals gave me, as well as other students, motivation to do well,” said junior Ashley Culberson. “Now that we don’t have the exemption, it kind of feels like our hard work is pointless.”
Without the incentive of not taking final exams, almost all students seem to be in agreement that a component of their drive in academics is gone. Numerous students expressed feelings of discouragement.
Nonetheless, faculty and administration seem to be in agreement that final exams are for the better.
“I think it’s good to be able to prepare for a larger test and get those study skills ready for the future,” said history teacher Laura Cariddi. “It’s good that kids have that experience on the high school level, so they’ve been through it before [graduation].”
However you feel about the new policy, it is in place for this year, so be sure to participate in classes accordingly.
