"I hate finals!"

Students at high schools throughout the country have been waiting for winter break since the first day of classes, and my school is no exception. But one more thing stands in their way...those looming end-of-semester final exams--finals week--and projects. For some students, the last two weeks of school can be hectic and stressful; for others, it's about the same as the rest of the semester.

"I hate finals. I hate school. Studying is worthless and time consuming." As a principal, these are comments I commonly hear at this time of the year. Another common comment is the more succinct, "Finals suck!"

However, others generally realize that finals themselves aren't so bad, but that people make them more stressful than they truly are. One senior told me, "Finals are overrated just because of all the pressure that's put on you. They aren't that hard." Some students have told me that finals week is a "joke" because most of the time they're just tested on material that they've previously seen in quizzes.

While some students don't take finals seriously, others stress out. One freshman recently told me, "I'm scared to death. I'm terrible at math and I have my Algebra 1 final on Monday at 8:15...and I'm not a morning person."

A junior who also has an upcoming math final said she started studying for it two weeks ago and will continue to study up to the day of her final. "I go to tutoring and the library every day trying to study. I practice the review sheet and go to my teacher if I don't understand problems." Even though she told me that she is worried about her math class, she said, "I try to stay focused and not think negatively. I take it easy and one step at a time."

Besides having exams to study for, many students also have projects that are due and this can be just as stressful as they try to manage their studying time.

One student said she has a group project that is due and projects really add stress. "You're trying to focus on one thing and then you have eight other things to focus on."

While many students are worried about their math classes, some said they were worried about their science class. One junior said, "I don't know crap about weather. It's confusing and we have to turn all this stuff into a simple presentation. It's hard to do that." That student also has a portfolio presentation due in her photography class...which is a major part of the final grade.

Cramming and procrastination can add to students' stress levels. One senior said he is stressed and procrastinates about studying, and wishes he didn't wait until the last moment to start studying or work on his projects. Many of the students agreed that cramming doesn't help with reducing stress levels. Even though one junior admitted that she crams when writing papers, she said, "Cramming is for losers who don't care about school." An interesting observation. The same student also said she doesn't let the end-of-semester woes stress her out. "If I have something to do I'll get it done."

Besides some students worrying about math or English or science, others worry about their History exams. One freshman said she has definitely been studying for her US History exam and even bought a study guide to help her understand some of the complex concepts in her textbook. Another freshman is also studying for her History final which she claimed is "kicking my butt." She said she doesn't handle stress well and usually nearly ends up in the emergency room because of anxiety attacks related to her test anxiety. She said her mom's even had to call in to school on occasion to tell us she won't be attending classes because of the stress attacks.

Students aren't the only ones that stress out about the last few weeks of school. Teachers have just as much pressure on them to wrap up the semester and grade final exams accurately. One teacher said on his final he uses the same format as the previous two tests and doesn't have the final weighted heavily. He said he doesn't go out of his way to make tests difficult. Students have two hours to complete exams and he said most complete the final in 45 to 50 minutes just like the other tests. He said while he doesn't make the final test cumulative, students do have to retain and use some of the information they previously learned.

"Some of the basic information is cumulative and you have to be able to refer to it," he said. The teacher said he's more worried about the papers he has to grade because sometimes it takes hours to grade one honestly.

Another teacher said 10 years ago he may have been stressed out but not anymore. "I've come to the point where I drop material if I have to. Writing finals isn't fun and grading them is less so, but I don't let it stress me out like I used to."

Other stress factors in high school students' lives include finances and adjusting to tougher grading scales in comparison to their junior high experiences, as well as relationships, college goals, and academic performance.