After the snow-day chaos enveloping the midterm finals and their subsequent cancellation the past school year, Francis Howell Central has made the decision to move them before winter break, marking a significant change in the school’s testing schedule. The shift also comes with the removal of the exemption policy that previously allowed students with a 95% or higher grade to skip finals.
For biology teacher Brian Bitney, this is a long-overdue improvement.
“I’ve always been slightly frustrated when finals were pushed to after winter break,” Bitney said. “There’s just a lot of challenges and things that are created when you give people a long amount of time to get out of the groove of school, and to not be thinking about a subject, and then when we come back, we have to get people started again.”
By having finals before winter break, it allows for materials to be fresher in students’ minds without interrupting a break intended for distancing oneself from school. In addition, it eliminates the need for a period of resetting and reviewing in the span after winter break and before finals.
The change traces back to adjustments in the Francis Howell school district’s calendar after a previous state law shifted the allowed start date of the school year. Bitney noted that moving finals after winter break was a response to scheduling logistics rather than educational priorities.
“Instead of completely reworking the schedule, they just straight up moved everything back a week, which meant moving finals back from before break to moving them after break,” he said.
Students have had mixed reactions to the earlier testing schedule. Estefany Aldana, a junior, said the timing reduces stress over the holidays but can feel rushed.
“I feel like it is a good thing because you don’t have to study over the break, but it’s also a bad thing because everything is going to be rushed,” she said. “Like, every chapter is gonna be rushed. So I won’t have as much time as I used to study.”
Senior Luke Stallings said he prefers having finals before the break because it allows students to relax once the exams are completed.
“I think it’s good because we can spend a break actually enjoying our time, and you won’t stress about if you’re going to do well after a break,” he said.
Students also face the added challenge of no longer qualifying for the option to skip finals based on a 95% or higher in classes, a decision that is facing controversy as students argue that consistent, good work should be rewarded.
The move reflects a broader effort to align instructional goals with testing schedules, particularly for AP and courses that require an EOC. Bitney said the adjustment had a direct impact on curriculum pacing.
“I personally feel like I just gained a few days to get through my curriculum, which is really important for every teacher, but also for teachers with EOC classes and AP classes,” he said. “Just because our district pushes things back a week doesn’t mean that the EOC or the AP test gets pushed back. Those stay the same.”
For students, the shift has brought an equilibrium of pressure and relief. While the earlier finals may appear rushed in the days leading up to break, the period over break to truly relax before the second semester is welcomed. Teachers see a smoother flow in instruction, with fewer disruptions and less time spent getting students back into the rhythm of classes after the holidays.
