The best part of the school year is the end of it. Almost every student looks forward to the end of the school year and the beginning of summer break.

By the time June comes around, students are done with SOL’s and teachers ease up on assigning work.
But, one obstacle to all that is final exams.

Final exams typically take place the last week of school, and the school days are made into half-days to accommodate for testing.

Last year, due to the pandemic, finals were canceled. This year, many students expected final exams to be canceled. Unfortunately, they were not.

Many students have expressed their concerns about taking finals amidst the pandemic because learning virtually has been a struggle for students.

Although some students feel unprepared to take their final exams, FCPS upgraded their grading policy for the 2020-2021 school year and has implemented final exam flexibility.

Now, a final can only serve to improve a student’s grade for the year or will otherwise not be counted.

There are no signs of exams being cancelled, but, on the bright side, exams won’t make much of an impact with the new policies.

Some teachers will also be offering final projects in lieu of final exams which, while still tedious, are a welcome substitute to dreaded finals.