Warren Central High School - Wigwam Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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facts tion, music and typing, a final is difficult to give because of the type of material learned during the semester. In most academic classes, such as English, math and science, vrhere learning is cumulative, most faculty members preferred to give finals, because, as one teacher stated, Too often daily quizzes and weekly tests encourage short term memorization. Twenty-nine percent agreed that final exams should be abol- ished, while over 50 percent agreed that teachers should not be forced to give a final test. A student may think that he spends too much time in preparing for semester exams. After the exam is over a student has little to worry about though. The average time a teacher takes in prepar- ing a final test is over eight hours. After the tests are given, it takes, on the average, six hours to grade exams even with the aid of the Scantron grading computer which 68 percent of the teachers use for help in grading exams. Whereas a student may study for three straight hours, it takes a teacher over 14 hours in preparing and grading finals. In September, while teacher surveys were being completed, another survey was given to several students. Like the teachers, 100 percent of the students that replied felt that they should report only to those classes in which a final exam was being given. Some added thqt they thought they could do better on the tests if given the extra time to study. The most predominant fact was that girls put more time into studying for final exams than boys did. The average studying time for 15 girls was one hour and 35 minutes per semester test, while the boys who were surveyed studied less than one hour, if at all, per final test. Final exams are sometimes replaced by semester projects. However, a total of 69 percent of the teaching staff have never in their teaching careers substituted a semester project for a semester exam. This contrasts greatly with the fact that 78 percent of the students surveyed would rather do a semester project than an exam. One student felt that a semester project was a more favorable way of evaluating a student ' s capabilities and effort; Final exams will probably be around for a long time, because no one else ha come up with a better type of evaluation. Granted that the system of finals at Warren Central is not agree- able to all, but it is not always possible to please everyone. The administration can and will make changes in the best interest of the student body and the faculty. As one teacher summed it up, Accurate and pertinent semester testing is necessary to the learning student and serves as a guide to the teacher in the revision of instruc- tional techniques. mi mi Junior lyto Lyng studies for her finals by us- ing the Medio Center facilities. Finals 15

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I p .nobody luonts to foce the Sophomore Marion Nierzsche depends on her study hall to eliminate excess homework. Sophomore Kim McGauhey looks over the Reader ' s Guide during Sophomore Orienta- tion. by Alice Wood Last minute cramming, grading papers and headaches were all clues that final exam week was upon Warren. Finals brought about a sense of tension among students. One was suddenly shocked by the reality that one test, only 55 minutes of brain power, could knock a straight A student ' s grade average from a 95 percent to a 78 percent for the semester. During September, a survey on finals was given to the faculty. Of a possible 112 surveys distributed, only 70 replied. The most significant result of the survey was that 100 percent of the teachers who replied were not satisfied with the way the sche- duling of tests was handled. The faculty agreed that the days on which finals were scheduled should be shortened so that students would report only to the classes in which finals were being given. This type of sche- duling would allow students more time to study and to be better pre- pared for their tests. It would also allow adequate time for teachers to grade exams. Fifty-three percent of the sur- veys returned showed that teachers thought that having clas- ses all day during finals week interferred with a student ' s studying for the final exams. Many high schools in the Indianapolis area, such as Law- rence Central, have handled their semester finals in this way. According to Mr. Alan Essig, director of guidance at Law- rence Central, during finals week students would report only to those classes where finals were being given. If a student had no final scheduled for a certain class period, he could stay in the school ' s Student Center or leave the school ' s premises. An open campus was in effect dur- ing that week. Mr. Essig stated that students and faculty were very happy with the arrangement. Teachers seemed to appreciate the additional free time to grade tests and average semester grades. Mr. Essig also stated that students liked the freedom and trust granted to them. The purpose of a semester final is to evaluate what a student has acquired over the past semester. Final exams also evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher ' s ability to teach. One teacher commented, My tests measure my teaching abili- ties. That ' s another reason for their importance. When teachers were asked how effective semester finals were in evaluating a student ' s ability, the results were quite close. Forty-nine percent thought that finals were not a fair evaluation of their students or themselves, while 51 percent thought that semester finals were the best and fairest way of evaluating a student that was known to them. Should teachers be forced to give a semester exam? In many classes, such as physical educa- 14 Finals

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Beth Hollandbeek, Theresq Weinzopfel and Bobby Yogng, first graders of Pleasant Run, practice on the alphabet while senior Janie Brandt observes their progress, thus gaining valuable Insight toword teaching. Stumped by a tough math problem, Steve Helming, a sixth grader gt Pleasant Run, seeks the advice of senior Diane Dial. n 16 Exploratory teachers