On November 11, 2020, at Riverside-Brookfield High School’s Board of Education meeting, the board announced that there would be no final exams for the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year. Final exams were to take place on December 15, 16, 17, and 18. Instead, now those are instructional days, which means that they’re just regular school days.

This change is another one of many that have occurred this school year. Especially with coronavirus pandemic cases soaring right now, it is safe to say that these changes will not be a defeat to students.

“I think people will be relieved not to have to stress out over finals with everything else going on,” said senior Abigail Morrissey.

Final exams are usually nerve-wracking times; having to synthesize all that was taught in the semester to perform it all on one test is not easy. The schedule is also different from regular school days. If we were to have taken finals this semester, the plan would’ve been one exam on the first day of finals, then two on the rest. 

“I think most students will appreciate the change,” junior Alice Sylvie said.

The news, though, did come as a surprise to students.

“I was not expecting them to cancel finals. I thought we were finally settling into the new routine,” Sylvie said, “I think the school board is still trying to get a handle on the new hybrid schedule.”

RB has undergone some formative changes thus far, from going from a hybrid plan to full remote, then back to a hybrid plan, and now our hybrid plan pause. It’s been a bit erratic.

“It would have been completely unfair to have a huge test when school has been so inconsistent this far,” Morrissey said, “RB should continue prioritizing safety and balancing education and mental health for its students.”