My school is stupid
So yeah, as the title says I think my school is stupid.
My district told us that since we took this test called the "keystones" witch replaced our normal year test the PSSA, we have an option to not take our final exams.
If we took the keystone for that class ( which does not count for a grade, only leveling purposes ) then we are exempt from the final exam, and our final grade will be calculated by the average of our quarter 1 and 2 grades. Now the stupid part! IF we decide to take our final, the grade we get on our final will replace both our q1 and q2 grades and the grade on the final is our final grade.
So that means if a student hasn't done any work all year, and has a 40% in the class, and they take the final and get a 94% on it, their final grade for that class is a 94.
BUT, if you do bad on the final, they throw it away and use your average of q1 and q2. They pick the better grade.
I think this is totally unfair for both the hardworking students, and the teachers who had to put up with the student.
TLDR : Exempt from finals, if decide to take the final, its your final grade, unless its worse then ur q1 and q2 average
18 Comments • Newest first
...Why're you complaining? If you know your stuff you can be lazy like I was in high school and just do nothing but nap and pass the final with flying colors. Only difference is, the final actually influences your grade.
I took the keystones like two weeks ago lol and they weren't that bad. Your school seems pretty silly to have finals replace q1 and q2 grades though. I would love the option to NOT take the finals, but if I were to take it I would rather have it count as an actual final that will ADD to your grade, like a bonus.
I think using one or two tests to determine your grade in a class is stupid. What if you're smart and great in class, but just a bad test taker? Or, like your point is here, what if you slack in the class but get lucky on the test or just cram a whole semester's worth of info into the week before finals?
Sigh, there's a lot of things that bother me about our school systems o.o
Off topic a bit, aren't we getting some new, country-wide test thingy next year? Like, i have to take the MCAS every year. It's being replaced i guess.
I live in Pennsylvania too! I hate most American schools anyway so not really a big deal to me.
So you're from Penn to, huh? PSSA sucked but in HS we only needed to do it for 11th grade. Now the Keystones are for every year
LOL sounds good
Do you honestly believe the kids who have a 40% in the course will get a 90%+ on the final?
The chemistry department at my school has the midterm and finals replace EVERY grade for that semester.
that sounds good to me though... Its like they give you two tries to get a high mark |:
Way better than having like a 50% exam that will usually only lower your final mark.
I don't think this is bad. If they're failing the course with a 40%, then they'll have to put in a lot more effort to get a 90%+ on the final. Those that kept up with the work are more likely to do well on the final and will have an easier time reviewing.
it's good for slackers like me
how is this bad?
If they do well while slacking off in class, they shouldn't have been in the class anyways. They're the real losers here.
Oh you're from Pennsylvania! Thank god I got done with my PSSAs in 11th grade lol. Seriously though.... My school is ACTUALLY full of stupid people. We spend a bunch on disciplining people lol. I'd have to say my school is worse/stupider .
This is in highschool btw
We took the Keystones as well (actually, we're the only grade in the school who had to take ALL of them at once). We never got an option like this; we just got bribed with the lottery system of, "Oh, if you individually do well enough, we'll add you in a lottery so you can win things like a parking space and junior prom tickets!" Woo.
sounds great, bit risky, but still sounds great
Ss or bs
I would have loved that in Highschool.