Just like employees who can earn cash bonuses for taking on extra work, students also respond to incentives.

One incentive that has proven effective at other high schools is a final exam exemption. This is offered at other schools in Texas, including our neighbor Bowie High School.

Personally experiencing a school that allowed exam exemptions, they are an exceptional idea and worked in my favor when the time for taking exams came barreling around the corner.

As a student who transferred to Akins this year, I was disappointed when I heard there were no final exam exemptions here. I do not see a reason to not provide this opportunity to high achieving students.

Final exams and the fact that they account for 25 percent of a student’s semester grade, can induce a large amount of stress, causing students’ anxiety levels to skyrocket. Providing exemptions can release a piece of that stress that students hold on their shoulders.

However, there are some teachers that do not share the same view as a student. They believe that it is not a good idea because the current grading system puts so much weight on these exams. If you do not excel on a final it can really sink your grade.

That is a reasonable mindset as to why exam exemptions are not the best exception. However, this is why we have solutions to the problem. For instance, not just anyone would be able to get an exam exemption.

It would not be fair to those students who work hard in class everyday to allow a student whom slacks off and never does much work the same opportunity. It is not just an equal opportunity hence the restriction.

When I say the word restriction it means that you have to pass certain expectations. Exams are a large part of our grade so we should have limitations on how many we can exempt. For instance freshman shall only exempt one, sophomores two, juniors three, and seniors four.

Students should have to be passing their classes by a certain grade such as pre-AP/AP classes have to be passing by a 90 and regular classes 85. Attendance matters, so students should not be allowed no more than 2-3 absences.

These should all be taken into account when allowing exemptions the limit, grade, and absences. It all depends on how the administration would favor this opportunity and what they would allow. It is understandable that jumping head first into an exam exemption can be a tricky situation due to the unknown outcome of it working or being a complete failure but I believe it would be worth it.

Students who have come from schools that allow this opportunity have taken a liking to it. As a student it is not because I’m lazy but the fact that finals can get overbearing with eight classes especially AP/dual credit classes, and after working on project and assignments one after another.

Putting in so much time and energy just not having to do one exam is a relief. It is just that little piece that is lifted off our shoulders and give us a little extra time to focus on other exams