On November 30th through December 1st, students underwent the trial run of a new final exam schedule. The schedule included an hour of prep, lunch with PAWS classes, and 75-minute exam periods. But with change comes new experiences and differing opinions.

New aspects of the finals schedule affected each student differently, yet there seemed to be a consensus among the students surveyed that these changes were for the better. Looking at the addition of a 75-minute prep hour to start off the first day of finals, more than 90% of students surveyed appreciated the extra time to sleep in or work with teachers to prepare for the upcoming finals. There was also a unanimous agreement in favor of spending the lunch hour with PAWS, whether it be for the additional 40 minutes of study time or the extra time to relax.

Surprisingly, the reduced finals period length was an area of varying opinions. While 40% of students believed the change wasn’t that drastic, almost 30% of students disagreed. They claim that despite the reduced class length the tests themselves were just as long, resulting in not enough time to complete their exams. Other students favored the shorter finals exam time because the test contained fewer questions, resulting in an easier test.  
Despite these contrasting perspectives, many students agreed that the changes made to the finals schedule achieved the goal of reducing the stress that usually surrounds this intense period. Some students believe this schedule change enabled them to feel more prepared for the finals exam period and others claimed that this new system positively impacted their scores on the tests. Overall, students seem pleased with the changes this new schedule brought around.