Mental health is a commonly discussed topic in our media—specifically in teenagers. According to the World Health Organization, “one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 15% of the global burden of disease in this age group,” and many more teenagers struggle because a lot of mental disorders go undiagnosed. According to Transformation Education, “Over 60% of students report feeling stressed daily, indicating a high prevalence of stress in the student population.” And according to an article from KSVT, “In 2019, about 37% of high school students had experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.” At ETHS, due to final exams being critical contributors to class grades at the end of the semester, they can be even more stressful for students than other tests.
Being in high school means knowing how to balance certain things. How does someone manage extracurricular activities, preparation for college, a social life, study, sports, possibly a job, and generally be a good student, all at the same time? Well, that’s life. High school teaches us to manage our time, prioritize what we believe is important, and face the consequences of the decisions that we make. But is that stress too much to place on a teenager?
The transition from middle school to high school is one of the most difficult, as you not only get used to a new school, a new environment, and new people, but you also become bombarded with responsibilities and more homework than any middle school teacher has ever given you. Despite these challenges, there are many positives that come with it. Often, in high school you find new people to be friends with, new passions to pursue, new pathways that interest you, new learning opportunities, and more.
This year, Evanston Township High School has made some major changes in rules and academics that have impacted our students’ stress levels, including the reinstatement of final exams. ETHS stopped giving students finals during the pandemic when E-learning over Zoom calls was implemented This year, however, they brought them back. Finals exams are worth ten percent of our semester grade, therefore if you got a zero on your final, you would drop a letter grade down. But, it is nearly impossible to get a zero on the final exams, unless, you missed one. ETHS is very strict on its finals policy when it comes to final exams. If you don’t have a medical excuse that has been approved by the school, and you miss a final, you get an automatic zero and are not allowed to retake the exam. There was also a strict tardy policy, if you arrived 5 minutes after the bell, or later, to your final, you could not take it. Which adds to a lot of pressure to be on time.
For me, the whole month of December was cramming extra learning in, while studying and preparing for finals. The week before the exams, the school was in a “finals frenzy”, as I like to call it. Because teachers hadn’t given finals in ages, they couldn’t really tell students what to expect, which left an air of confusion and anxiety about the week to come. Freshman Cleo Segall says, “[My stress] was more just like general anxiety around whether I would get a good grade or not.” Segall brings up a valuable point. One of the worst parts about taking a test is not knowing how well you scored, and because finals are part of our semester grade, they impact us.
Even though finals were stressful for everyone, I think ETHS handled them well. We got all of our finals done in three days, we had longer passing periods, we did not have to stay on campus when we didn’t have a final, the staff passed out snacks in Heritage Hall, we had more time to sleep in, and the school days were much shorter on top of two extra days of winter break for most.
It is also important to add that finals have taught ETHS students better habits when it comes to preparing for crucial tests. Most students spent a lot of their time studying for finals in the weeks leading up to them, learning how to manage time and productivity, which are crucial life skills beyond high school.
As we return from winter break and ease back into our routines, hopefully well-rested and refreshed, we will have to return to the flow and workload that high school provides, preparing for our finals at the end of May.
