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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FINALS GUIDE 2012
EXAMS
Professors and students dread finals
Preparation and high expectations are apparent at both ends of the spectrum by end of semester
EMMA LEGAULT
elegault@kansan.com
After hours spent studying at the library, nights of no sleep and a few deep breaths, it's here, and the only thing standing between you and winter break is a packet of questions and a Scantron sheet.
The word "stress" goes hand-in-hand with finals, and it's a feeling that both students and professors share during this week.
"I find final exam week to be as stressful or more stressful than [students] do," psychology professor, David Holmes, said. "To watch students take an exam just drains the blood out of me."
Holmes said he finds himself in the same position as many other professors with the added burden of dealing with students' exceptional circumstances, such as getting sick or having travel arrangements on the day of the final.
students, the "extenuating circumstances" seem to be pouring in steadily.
"The only solution I have is to get ready very early. I've been getting ready for finals before [students] even thought about it," Holmes said.
Holmes said he has been preparing for the final for the past two weeks, and he has "all
In a Psychology 104 class of almost 1,000
"To watch students take an exam just drains the blood out of me."
DAVID HOLMES Psychology Professor
of the pieces together." He said finals are valuable for gauging knowledge.
Unfortunately with such a large class, Holmes said he doesn't have much of an opportunity to give a more in-depth exam.
"I think it's better in another course where we can watch and test student's integration of a lot of material. Here I can't do that," he said. "There's very little I can measure on integration, that would require essay exams, and I'm not going to read a thousand essays."
Zachary Dennett, a freshman from Winfield, doesn't think that finals are a good test of
gained knowledge.
"It's just a competition to see who can memorize the right information the day before a test," he said.
Although he isn't stressing for finals, Dennett said he recognizes the importance of performing well on them.
"They will actually matter. If you fail these tests they have consequences," he said.
Unlike Holmes, Dennett hasn't felt the pressure of exams.
"There's no use being nervous for the inevitable" he said.
Hannah Arredondo, a junior from Parkville, Mo., said the reliability of final exams lies in the type of test. Although she doesn't like them, Arredondo said she thinks short answer and essay exams are a better reflection of what students have learned, than multiple-choice tests.
"There have been times students who do not study at all, end up with better scores than those who do," she said.
Arredondo believes students have an unfortunate disadvantage when it comes to test anxiety.
"I think professors often get nervous because they want us to do well, but I don't think they get nearly as nervous as students do," she said.
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