New Trier Students had their first semester finals starting Jan. 21, and because the test determined up to 20% of a student’s grade, anxiety and stress were abundant.
This calls into question whether finals are beneficial to students.
For students final exams result in many late night, caffeinated drinks, and stress. Tiffany Myers, Social Work Department chair, said, “Everyone gets more stressed around finals, and some anxiety is good. The difference between good and bad stress is when the stress starts interfering with daily life.”
Myers described two types of stress: eustress and distress. Eustress is a healthy level of stress that motivates people to do better, and to improve.
Distress is an unhealthy level of stress, that starts interfering with daily routines. “Students who are in the distress stage can’t eat, can’t sleep, and can’t function because their stress has taken over their bodies,” said Myers.
Though many students feel that they have crossed into an unhealthy amount of stress, especially during finals, Myers said, “all students get stress, but students who are in the distress stage usually have other issues.”
Finals may not cause all students to enter into an unhealthy level of stress, but for that one week, many feel unable to be cope with the pressure. Junior Lily Lyman said, “finals stressed me out very much. I was close to tears. I thought that I was going to fail.”
This fine line between eustress, and distress is often crossed by high school students, especially at New Trier. Many students complained of the pressure and stress added by going to a prestigious high school. Callie Kennedy, a sophomore, said “[New Trier] has unrealistic expectations for their students,” while senior, Amelia Barron said “there is definitely more pressure at New Trier because students are constantly comparing themselves to others.”
New Trier is one of the top-ranked schools in the state, coming in at 5th according to the Chicago Tribune’s list of the best high schools in Cook County. This esteemed reputation comes added pressure to its students.
Liza Boscow, a sophomore, said,”as a student being expected to go to school, play a sport, and keep up good grades, it is a lot to ask for. Balancing your schedule is very stressful.”
Even staff members have seen the toll that students face. “New Trier is very competitive, students feel the need to do well. This need to succeed makes students forget about their own needs,” said Myers.
To the disappointment of many students, finals may always be part of the New Trier culture, and although they have a bad stigma of causing stress, they do help students prepare for college, where finals could be worth up to 50% of a students grade. Mercedes Lopez, a MCL teacher, “Final exams show what students learn in class, its a way for students to put in to practice what they have learned.”
“Finals test your knowledge and they prepare you for college where most of you grade is based off the final,” said senior Michael Burke,”Even though they make you stressed, it’s beneficial in the long run.”
Nevertheless, most of the time students look past the benefits of finals and look towards the negatives. Lily Lyman recommended to make finals less stressful, “I think New Trier should make the finals less high stakes. The percent that a final can be worth should be lowered by the school to make finals less stressful.”
“I’m sure there are a lot of things you can do to help make finals less stressful,” said Boscow. “But if you don’t ask you will never get the help you need.”
According to many New Trier teachers, finals are not as high stakes as they seem. “Well built finals that are fair, don’t cause final semester grades to change as much as students think,” said Lopez.
Math teacher Bob Berlin said, “In most cases finals don’t change kids’ grades, but students feel like it has drastically changed their grades until they see their final grades and realize nothing has changed.”
“Finals are just a piece of paper that shows what you as a student has learned,” said Lopez.