During the summer, RRISD announced that final exams would no longer be required. The reasoning given from the district behind the move was to reduce stress and maximize instructional time allowing students to continue their normal academic schedules. 

Instead, semester grades will be calculated as an average of the two quarter grades with Quarters 1 and 2 equalling the Semester 1 grade and Quarters 3 and 4 equalling Semester 2’s grade. However, the change doesn’t affect end of course (EOC), AP, IB or dual credit course exams. 

This change was necessary as finals put additional stress on students before the holiday season. Students are expected to ramp up studying in the weeks leading up to winter break despite the additional assignments and tests already on the curriculum. 

Along with the increased workload, finals week schedules are also an adjustment as students were required to follow a different schedule which required them to be in their classes, even if they exempted that final. That time could be better spent in the continuation of the curriculum’s content to advance what students are learning before the long break. 

Before this policy went into effect, final exams were separate from semester grades. This isn’t an accurate measure of how students are doing in the class because final exams contain the entire semester’s course content. Students aren’t going to retain information that they receive from the beginning of the school year and to hold that against them doesn’t make sense. 

Despite this, teachers still have the option to schedule a final exam if they so choose. However, the removal of required final exams allows students to have a much needed academic and mental break before the winter holidays.