With the class of 2026 now off on their senior projects, they are left with the memories of their last week in high school: shirt-signing, college-shirt day, the beach party, saying goodbye to this chapter of their life—and senior exams. During what is supposed to be an enjoyable and sentimental week for seniors, the fun is interrupted by the stress of senior exams. Moving these exams would allow seniors to fully enjoy their last week of being a GA student.
Though there are many fun events planned for the seniors during their last week, with the stress of preparing for exams falling during the same week, they are often unable to attend these events or are not able to fully enjoy them. Instead of enjoying water ice with their classmates whom they won’t get to see every day for much longer, many seniors found themselves inside studying.
“I was on the cusp of a grade in calc so I kept having to not go to things or skip out on spending time with other seniors in the class because it was like ‘Oh, well I have to go study for my calc final’, Elsa Simonetti ‘26 said. “I remember during the beach day in the parking lot, I had to go and leave early to study and I felt like I was missing out.”
In addition to diminishing the fun, senior exams disrupt the schedule and normalcy of the last week. The last week of school is the last time the graduating class gets to sit in class with their peers and go through the motions of a normal high school day. Since these exams occur during scheduled class periods, normal classes cannot be attended and students miss out on their last moments of just being a high school student.
Not only does having senior exams this week make the week less enjoyable, it also can hinder the performance of students on these exams. For students who may be on the cusp of a grade or who need to maintain a certain grade, their finals are particularly important, yet they may be unable to focus due to all the chaos going on.
“Another thing is that I wasn’t super focused on my finals because of all the fun stuff that was going on because it made it seem like it was a week to slack off and just focus on having fun. But simultaneously, I had all these important tests to do that I couldn’t give my full attention to and as a result didn’t do as well on,” Simonetti said.
Though taking final exams is a regular part of one’s academic career and is something students should feel practiced and comfortable doing, moving these exams even just a week earlier would be beneficial in many ways. It would allow students to soak in their final moments in classes, enjoy the festivities of the week and could improve performance on finals.
Graduating high school and leaving the GA community is a sentimental time for many. It is a marker for the end of childhood and is often infused with nostalgia and the bittersweetness of growing up. Seniors should be able to spend their last moments in our community having fun, appreciating their memories and friendships, rather than stressing about finals.