The Opposite End of the Testing Spectrum

Students are stressing out about finals, but what about teachers?

Finals. A word that strikes fear into the heart of any student, young and old alike. But students aren’t the only ones who groan at the mention of its name‒their teachers do too.

Teachers are also going through the rigorous procedure of preparing for finals, and they worry about them just as much as many students.

“A little,” Physics teacher Joanne Bader said when asked if she was stressed out for finals, “because you have to try to get all the grading done.”

And all this work is before finals even begin! Many of the teachers have to create or edit the test itself, a process that can take several hours. Often they can’t even reuse the same test from last year because they may have covered more or less material, or talked more about certain things. Some unlucky teachers have to start from scratch and create a completely new assessment, like English teacher Gina Clarizio.

Clarizio has her students writing a three-page essay. That may seem like a lot to write, but it is even more to grade.

“It takes me twenty to thirty minutes to grade,” Clarizio said, “and I have fifty to sixty of them.”

At least students get some time off! Clarizio said that she hardly gets a Christmas break because of all the the grading she has to get done.

“I almost wish I taught psychology instead of English…” Clarizio said “a lot less grading. ”

Luckily for Bader, Clarizio, and other teachers, new technology is making grading a lot easier.

“I’m happy we have Scantrons,” Spanish teacher Tara Gille said.

Such technology can cut grading times in half by making the process more precise and efficient.

In the end, though, the teachers try their best to make sure their students know the subject they’re teaching.

“We try our best to prepare kids, with the final.” Gille said.