It’s that time of the year when many students have to stay two extra days at school and take semester tests. A student has to have an A and three absences, a B, and two absences, or a C and one absence to be exempt from taking the tests, but if a student has more than three absences or if a student has a D or F in a class, they automatically have to take the tests.

Teachers don’t get the choice of allowing the students who average an A, but have more than three absences, to not take the test, but I think it should be up to the teachers. Students who have to go to doctor appointments or dentist’s appointments all the time have to take semester tests every year. Some teachers think that as long as those students have an A in their class, they shouldn’t have to take the tests, but other teachers think every student should take the test no matter what their grades are.

“I think it should be considered because it gives teachers the opportunity to look at special circumstances such as sports injuries that occurred while playing sports for our school which requires them to miss school for doctor appointments, or funerals students miss for family members,” Ashlea Dowell, science teacher, said.

“I don’t necessarily have a problem with it myself, but I don’t think it would be a great idea because if they let the teachers decide that the student doesn’t have to take it, there would be people coming up here and complaining about it,” Sean Mesis, history teacher, said.

I agree with Ms. Dowell because some students have to go to doctors appointments, whether it’s for personal medical reasons or because they got hurt playing a sport for the school. I also think that the students who have to go to funerals for their family members or close friends should have an excused absence that day because they shouldn’t have to choose between their loved ones and school.