Contributor:  Gabby Verette
Photographer: Gabby Verette

Arguably the most stressful week for students – the dreaded “Final Exams Week” – is only a few short days away for students at Wauwatosa West.  Exam week begins on Tuesday, January 22nd and runs through Friday, January 25th.

“I don’t like exam week, I think it’s too overwhelming” said Senior, Taylor Walker. “I think it’s just too much at once, like I don’t know.  Our brains can’t take all of that testing and studying in such a short period of time” she said.

Two exams are held each day.   Each exam is a hour and 20 minutes long, but students have the opportunity to stay an extra 20 minutes if they need to finish or want to review their exam.

“I feel like they should be worked into the school week, instead of exam after exam after exam..” said Sophomore, Aaliyah Jackson.

Those who are not used to exam week may be surprised by the upbeat pace of the exam days.

“People keep telling me that the week is going to be stressful, my only question is how hard is it actually going to be” said transfer student, Makeyba Bratchett.

If you have a project exam, you still must come in for your class’s scheduled time.

There is some debate about what students will do during exam time if they have already completed a project exam.  Creative Writing teacher, Kelly Hetzel said that she will use her exam time for presenting.  “The time is important for them to share their craft and what they worked on.”

Some think this idea is “..stupid, it really is stupid and unfair” said Junior, Jharrell Frazier.  While others don’t really seem to have a problem with it, “it’s not that big of a deal, some people need to study for their other exams and this is a way to make sure they have time to do it” said Senior, Brandi Jones.

According to Wauwatosa Schools Superintendent, Phil Ertl, he said “we get 180 days with students and we need to make the most of every day and period” which is why students are required to come in during the times of their project exam classes.

The requirements for exam exemptions are another thing that students have frustrations over.  “The exam exemptions should never be that serious; if we get the good enough grade that should be all that matters” said Senior, Ayinde Smith.

The staff thinks otherwise, of course.  Student Supervisor Kevin Mitchell said “I completely agree with the policy, in order to get certain privileges you should not be too absent to school.”

Although, these complex guidelines raise the question of if we should even have exemption opportunities in the Wauwatosa School District.  The exam information for this are as follows:

Exam Exemption Guidelines

1.    Exam exemptions are available for students in grades 9 – 12.

2.    Classes that require a project instead of a traditional exam cannot be exempted.

3.    Each eligible student may exempt one exam 1st semester.

4.    Exemptions are NOT available for the first semester exam in AP classes.  In yearlong classes, a student will not be allowed to exempt both semester exams.

5.    A student must earn a B or better average for the semester in the class to be exempt in order to qualify.  A grade of B- or lower excludes a student from an exemption.

6.    An unexcused absence (truancy) from ANY class and/or any outstanding detentions will disqualify a student from exemptions in ALL classes.

7.    A student is allowed a maximum of 5 excused absences per semester from the class to be exempt.  This number has been set high enough to allow for illness, appointments, vacations, funerals, or other family emergencies.

8.    School-related absences will not count against exemptions.

9.    A student is allowed a maximum of 3 unexcused tardies in a class to exempt that class.

ANY out of school or in school suspensions during the semester will disqualify a student from exemptions in ALL classes.

EXAM SCHEDULE

SEMESTER 1

2012-13

Here is the schedule for first semester exams.  This is just a reminder that we will allow students to leave 20 minutes prior to the end time at the discretion of the teacher.

For example: Hour 1 we will ring the bell at 9:20am.  If teachers want to let students leave they can.  If students need more time to finish then they stay the entire hour and 40 minutes.  Again we will do this for every exam.  If you plan on keeping students the entire hour and 40 minutes please let students know before exam week.  Students only have the two options of an hour and 20 minutes or an hour and 40 minutes.  Student should only leave the classroom at those two release times.