MCPS has tentatively decided to eliminate final exams in all high schools as soon as next school year in order to increase instructional time.

This proposal would restore at least two weeks of teaching that are lost to semester exam testing throughout the year. The exams would be replaced by a number of MCPS-created quarterly options, including projects, unit tests, essays or labs, depending on which class is being assessed, and would most likely take place during a 45-minute class period.
Freshman Ian Rosenthal is excited about the change.

“Projects are a more accurate representation of a student’s ability than an exam,” Rosenthal said.
MCPS plans to ensure that these assessments align with state and national standards, specifically with the PARCC and Next Generation Science Standards expectations, and that these options would provide students more frequent and unique measures to demonstrate learning.

Adam Field, an AP Human Geography and U.S. History teacher, is not in favor of the decision.
“I am concerned that students will not have an opportunity to prepare for and take a semester exam like they would in college,” Field said. “It’s a disservice to our students.”

With the exams changing, the method of calculating the final semester grade would also change. If the semester exam category were to be removed, the grading system would switch to being trend-based, where students who received a B in the first quarter and an A in the second automatically get an A for the semester, but those who receive an A in the first quarter and then a B in the second quarter will receive a B. This eliminates students’ chances of redeeming their semester grade with the semester exam.

Other grading policy options under consideration include taking the average numerical grade of the two quarter grades, taking a calculation of the numerical percent average of each quarter to obtain the final grade, and creating a category for the last assessment that is 25 percent of the final quarter grade.

“I believe the semester grades will be a lot worse without the extra grade,” junior Mishal Ahmad said.
MCPS wants student input when deciding between these grading options, so students and community members are encouraged to search “grading options”on the MCPS website. The deadline for submitting feedback is Oct. 19.