
Students waking up with a sore throat have a choice to make: go to school to avoid another absence or stay home and risk having to take the spring semester exam.
In the fall semester of the 2024-25 school year, Coppell ISD reintroduced semester exams to the high school campuses. In December, Coppell High School principal Laura Springer announced new policies for the spring semester final exams. This is a campus-wide decision, but also applies to the CHS9 and New Tech High @ Coppell campuses.
Students now must have no more than three excused or unexcused absences to qualify for exemptions, instead of just unexcused absences as the policy previously stated. This excludes school-related absences, religious holidays and college visits. Students must still be present on the day of the exam.
“I’m not against an attendance policy. I just believe it’s too strict, especially with the fact that you can be sick for three days, and then that’s it,” sophomore Sonja Taavittela said. “There are so many sicknesses going around school this time of year and kids who feel pressured to show up while sick are just going to cause more people to miss more school. Sometimes all you really need is a couple days of rest, and they’re not really accounting for that.”
There are also merit-based requirements that must be met to be exempt from the spring exams. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate class grades must be 95 or above, honors grades 90 or above and on-level grades 80 or above. These benchmark grades are based on grades from the third marking period, plus the second Interim Progress Report for the fourth marking period.
This specific change has sparked discussion among students.
“I’m actually scared of my AP classes and scared to take more,” sophomore Alivia Shang said. “I feel like I need to start stressing and studying for the test I might not even have to take. I can’t enjoy my classes without feeling an invisible threat in every small gesture.”
However, some students agree with this policy.
“I think that these should be welcome changes,” senior Thomas O’Donnell said. “I know and understand that not everyone should be expected to excel at everything, but this should be something to look at in a better light, as it’s something that was put in place to encourage students to do better academically.”
Springer said the semester exams are set to teach students how to face larger exams and projects as they go to college.
“We want you to come to school, but we also want you to learn the content so you can do well on your AP and IB exams,” Springer said.
Despite these changes, some teachers said their teaching and planning is unaffected.
“In comparison to last semester, I don’t think the new expectations will change the way I teach,” chemistry teacher Courtney Crosby said. “With the addition of different expectations, and not just being based on attendance, I think it looks more at each student as a whole and not part of them.”
Students who have undergone disciplinary action, such as in-school suspension and Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, are required to take their finals regardless of other circumstances.
These policies were put in place in the hopes of preparing students for life past high school, from college to the corporate world.
”We want you to understand that high stakes tests are going to happen in college,” Springer said.
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