By Jenna Brodkin
Staff Writer

Sometimes students are given unit tests before finals week, negatively affecting their ability to
study for and manage their semester exams. Teachers should not be able to give unit tests
approaching finals because students’ mental health will decline due to high levels of stress.
Costa’s first semester finals will take place from Dec. 19-22, but some teachers are holding unit
tests the week before. A unit test is a test that is assigned at the end of each unit that has been
covered in a class. Final exams are cumulative tests given at the end of each semester. On
finals, teachers test students on all of the information taught throughout the semester. Final
exams week consists of two two-hour finals each day from Tuesday to Thursday.

One reason why teachers should not be assigning unit tests leading up to finals is because of
the stress it causes students. According to thebutlercollegian.com, studies show that when

students are stressed from school, it can affect their overall academic performance. When
surveying 200 Costa students, 88.3% believed that teachers should not be able to give unit
tests leading up to finals week. As a result of unit tests occurring before finals week, students
might not do as well on their finals. By adding a unit test directly prior to finals week, it could
cause a student immense amounts of stress. According to weblog.wur.eu, the majority of
students’ stress results from pressure to be academically successful. According to
weblog.wur.eu, stress automatically leads to anxiety and worry, which can lead to greater
problems like depression and an increase in drop-out rates. During finals week, it is important
that students maintain a healthy mindset so that students can perform better.

According to Healthy Living, a solid sleep schedule is important to students’ academic function.
Per collegian.psu.edu, it is recommended that teenagers get eight hours of sleep every night,
but per the 200 Costa students, a majority of students get only five to seven hours of sleep per
night. Normally, the week before finals is used to prioritize studying. So, if on top of unit tests
students have to study for final exams, it will cut into their sleep time. Also according to
collegian.psu.edu, students performed, on average, four points higher on their final exams than
those who did not sleep at least eight hours per night at Baylor University. This is relevant to
Costa students because sleep is important to students’ performance.

Finally, assigning a unit test the week before finals will take away from students’ study time for
final exams. Due to the large amount of information covered by final exams, it takes multiple
hours over several days to study for finals. According to Costa History teacher Gregory Kloes,
students should study to make sure they know the information that the teacher taught
throughout the semester to maintain their grade. According to Robert A. Hatch from the
University of Florida, students should only be studying for four to five hours a day. For many
students, studying for a singular final will take up that whole block of time. Ideally, according to
cengage.com, students should start studying at least five days in advance of final exams, which
is harder to achieve with unit exams the week prior.

On the other hand, it is beneficial for teachers to assign unit tests around the time of finals
because it is a good way for students to earn points while the unit is still fresh in their minds.
However, the amount of stress and time put into studying for that unit test will negatively affect
students, in accordance to the survey. Students could gain the points that would typically be
accrued by the unit test if the unit is included on the final. According to sophomore Gabby
Coehlo, having the most recent unit included on the final is easier to manage than a unit test.
Costa’s administration declined to comment on this topic.

Teachers should not be able to give unit tests the week before finals because it causes stress
levels to increase greatly, study time for finals to decrease and students’ sleep schedules to
suffer.