The final judgement

It's the beginning of the end folks. And at this point all I have to say is: Screw finals, and all tests for that matter. \nWho's with me? \nI have four finals and I really don't feel like taking them. I'm frustrated, stressed out and just angry that they exist. \nI want to know who started this whole academic tradition. \nThen I would like to go back in time and smack him/her around a little. It would make me feel so much better. It's so dumb how one test can make up such a large percentage of your grade in a class.\nLast year, I took Economics E201: Introduction to Microeconomics, and it almost made me cry -- on several occasions, actually. \nOn the first day of class the professor told the us that the final exam was going to be cumulative and worth 40 percent of the final grade. At first I thought he was joking, but further into that semester I realized he was incapable of that. I studied really hard for the final but it was really stressful just knowing that this one test was going to cover 16 weeks of notes and determine my final grade in such a big way. \nFor the record, I got a C on it and in the class. Thank God for grading curves. \nLuckily this semester I don't have any 40 percent finals, but I'm still not digging all the 30 percent ones. It's still too much. \nI guess testing is just part of human nature. When someone is taught something there should be a way for them to prove what they learned, and that's where tests come in. But not everyone takes tests well. \nI think there really are naturally-bad test takers. Although I couldn't find much information on the Internet to prove it, everyone knows it's real. Granted, some people just say they are bad test takers as an excuse for being stupid or lazy, but there's a good amount of students who sincerely are. I think professors need to realize this and not make final exams such a big deal. I'm not the best test taker, but I'm not the worst either. Some people might just get really nervous during a test or they could have some learning disorder they don't even know about. Like in the Cosby Show when Theo failed his college mythology test about Icarus, and then later they found out he had dyslexia. Just thought I'd mention it for nostalgia sake.\nToo bad the Cosby Show didn't do an episode on the SATs. That's another ridiculous test. I remember dreading it in high school. I used to think that it was the only thing that determined what kind of college I was going to get into. Now I know different, but that's a lot of emphasis to put on one test. And this school year it's getting harder. The new 2005 version of the SAT is 25 percent longer, and now it lasts three hours and 45 minutes, according to www.msnbc.com. The maximum score has changed from 1,600 to 2,400. \nThese changes are stupid. Why make it harder? Just so students will go crazy stressing over it? \nI say delete it from the whole college application process to begin with. \nIt's just like finals. \nThe work you did during the course of the class should be what you're graded on. Maybe they should have a paper or essay option for students, instead of a final exam. I had an astronomy class where taking the final was optional. \nWhatever the case, the stressing will be over soon. I guess I'll get through this week by just not worrying about it that much. \nThen again, studying could help too I suppose.