The State of McQuaid’s Final Exams

McQuaid+Students+taking+an+exam

McQuaid Students taking an exam

As the 2020-2021 school year quickly draws to a close, many students waited anxiously for news about their final exams.

Alas, on an April 8th update e-mail sent out to all parents, McQuaid Jesuit finally confirmed the cancellation of final exams, saying “…after considering the broader academic wellbeing of our students and consulting with their teachers, final exam week in its traditional form this year for all students will not occur.“

Continuing, the e-mail explained, “June 7 – 10 will now become instructional days,” meaning that the days that were originally scheduled for the final exams would instead become normal class days, which most students would agree is a fair trade-off.

With the cancellation of final exams, this raises some concerns with McQuaid students, particularly about their gradebook balance. Connor Dougherty ‘22 says, “ I could see this affecting some kids averages in a negative way, but my grades have been really good this year and I can focus on developing those grades.”

However, overall, McQuaid students seem to be grateful for the cancellation of finals, despite the gradebook shake-up, with Dougherty continuing, “Personally I did not want any final exams because of the stress of taking big important tests especially in Junior year.”

McQuaid Jesuit’s cancellation of final exams, in service of the health, safety, and academic wellbeing of its students, is seen as a fantastic move by the administration, one for which the majority of students are thankful.

McQuaid student taking an exam