Milton High School is planning to hold Open Campus finals again this year. This means that unless they have a scheduled exam, students are able to come and go from the high school on May 21, 22 and 26.
“Open campus finals are so students can focus on certain exams,” Principal Mr. Michael Bergey said. It allows students to completely dedicate their focus to the exams, he added.
According to Mr. Bergey, final exams determine how much a student has learned and how well a teacher taught them. The finals also make up ten percent of a students’ overall grade, affecting the ending average. “It truly is extremely important for students to take the finals seriously and as responsibly as possible,” he added.
Not all classes have traditional finals, according to Mr. Bergey. Some classes such as PE don’t have finals due to it being a more physical class compared to knowledge base.
“These classes don’t require a final. If a student doesn’t have a final on that day, just leave early,” added Mr. Bergey. “There will be no other classes aside from exam classes.”
If students are in the building but don’t have a final scheduled for a certain time, they can be in the cafeteria, LIT cafe, or auditorium, he added.
“It’s extremely important for students to know their exam schedules so that each student is prepared for their respective exam,” Mr. Bergey explained. “Bus schedules will stay the same, meaning you don’t have to worry about getting a ride home unless you decide to leave the school early after testing.”
“The finals are specifically scheduled to make sure classes don’t overlap. Lunch schedules are changed to be an hour-long window to ensure everyone has enough time to eat before testing,” said Mr. Bergey.
Senior finals are scheduled by the teachers, but most of the senior finals are scheduled during keystone times. “Teachers have the option to plan for groups to come in during Keystone Administration time on a given morning,” said Mr. Schultz.
Social Studies Teacher Mr. Ronald Schultz, who helped set the schedule for the exams, said that he generally begins working on the final exam schedule in late March to early April. He added that gives him enough time to share an early version with staff and administration, in case they need to troubleshoot any potential problems.
According to Mr. Schultz, students are not to take more than two finals per day, and the final exams times are scheduled anywhere between 55-85 minutes per final, with core classes taking up more of the time than electives. “Students will be responsible for attending their scheduled final,” said Mr. Schultz.
“Open Campus Final Exams are beneficial for both students and staff. I hope students can see the benefit and make every effort to show up on time for their finals, so that we can continue this event in future school years,” Mr. Schultz added.
Mr. Bergey said that Open Campus finals were held at the high school in the 2010s. “Finals were originally open campus, until they changed the period schedule into block schedules. Once we returned to period schedules, we returned to open campus finals,” Mr. Schultz explained.
