As the 2026 school year concludes, students work on their last class projects, assignments, and, most importantly, focus for their upcoming finals. For seniors, the expectation of not having to take their second semester finals is not met.
The Senior Class is outwardly against final exams despite how bad their attendance records are.
“Seniors should never have to take finals unless they are failing the class,” senior Caleb Gudmundson said. “As long as you’re passing the class, attendance shouldn’t matter for finals. We’re seniors and want to get out of here.”
The frustration is from the students to administrators questioning why, if they only missed one class, they have to take the final. The answer is clear and valid, and it all starts with showing up.
The attendance rule at Huntley High School is if you have one or more unverified absence, or have a 70% or less in the class, the final exam of that course needs to be completed. Some students with exceptional attendance agree that the hard work pays off.
“I believe it’s understandable because if you’re not putting in the work, you should need to take the final and make up for it,” senior Gabby Sweeney said.
“Senioritis” is real. Throughout the year, seniors feel the need to be in class continuously less. They stop planning ahead and noticeably working as hard.
A potential effective solution has been brought to the attention of many seniors: optional finals. As long as students are passing a class, many students believe it would be best if it still was not a requirement, but rather an opportunity to raise grades.
“I feel that finals should be optional if people want to raise their grades, but shouldn’t be a requirement for second semester seniors,” senior Juliana Sindelar said. “Mostly considering we would all need to come back after our last day of school.”
Considering that this rule will not be changed this school year, administration has kept the student perspective in mind. This strict regulation has many different viewpoints, but pushes seniors to work hard regardless in their last semester at Huntley.
