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the duration of the class. If a student practices good study habits throughout the class, the exam poses no threat to them. A student who does not practice good study habits, or even make an effort to keep up with the material at all during the course, has much to fear. This is as it should be. The whole purpose of the class is for the student to avail him or herself of an education. This education is the set of knowledge and skills that has been mandated by society at large as important and necessary for a student to succeed. If a student can bypass this system, then society (not just a teacher, and not just a school - the responsibility for education extends to family, friends, and society at large) has failed to provide for this student's needs. The final exam is an excellent check for progress. A failure of a student to be ready for a final exam is a sure sign that the student has not received the proper instruction. Again, this is not strictly a matter of a teacher failing to teach. A student is instructed throughout his or her life, learning whether to value education, whether to listen when others speak, how much time should be devoted to study, how to study, who to turn to for assistance, and even that people care enough to provide assistance when needed. It is actually quite rare that a teacher simply fails to teach. It is an unpopular view, but if a student has not been taught basic lessons in life, as well as in school, before reaching higher level classes (where final exams are to be found), they are going to struggle with the expectations placed upon them - namely that they are expected to have learned that education matters, that they do have to make time to study, and that they do have to seek assistance when it is needed. If these expectations are not met, then certainly a student is destined to fail final exams. If the system still allows them to progress, and the performance is repeated in class after class, certainly it could be discouraging. The problem, however, is that the problem itself goes unaddressed.

A failed final exam should be a sign that a student needs special attention, and they need it yesterday. Unfortunately, the unpopularity of final exams has caused their weight to dwindle with time. Commonly, a final exam will only count as 20% of the final grade. This helps to reduce the pressures associated with the test, as students realize (or teachers even point it out to them) that they can actually fail the final exam and still get an "A" or a "B" in the class. For a dedicated student, this isn't problematic, as they still make the effort to learn and proceed to do well on the exam. For unmotivated students, however, the temptation (and reality) is to work hard enough at cramming for regular tests during the year to score well enough that they can afford to fail that final exam while still "earning" a passing grade overall. This is true de-motivation at work. A system which teaches students how to get by with the bare minimum of effort can never be one which will achieve its goals. So long as failed final exams are tolerated ("because the student passed the class overall") the educational system is weakened. A passing score on final exams really needs to be required for a student to pass, and when this does not happen, it should be recognized as a sign that the student needs to repeat the class in some form, and that they need more attention in other areas as well. If this practice is ever placed in action, then final exams will truly help the education process.

Learn more about this author, Ernest Capraro.
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