In the 2021-2022 school year, Camas High School (CHS) made the decision to change the finals week schedule from late start to early release. The student body at CHS has mixed opinions about this change.

Prior to the 2020-2021 school year, the finals week schedule at CHS was always a late start and two finals per day. This year, however, it was changed to two finals and an early release. The student body of CHS has mixed opinions on this new change. 

Many students believe this change is beneficial because they feel more productive during finals week. Being forced to wake up early, and then complete two finals leave a lot of time in the afternoon to study for consecutive finals.

Freshman Jenny Wang said, “I think that I enjoy early releases more because it gives me time to study for the following day… Late starts generally don’t make me more productive, or have a better performance.” Especially for students with extracurricular activities or sports, having time to study during finals week can be difficult. “I have a ton of after-school activities so I like having a break before,” Wang said. 

On the other hand, some students claim that this change will negatively affect their performance during their finals. The biggest reason for this is that they are not able to get the extra two hours of sleep, and the lack of sleep will hurt their results.

Junior Madhuri Parasa said, “I think it’s important to get a good night’s sleep before taking a big test so being able to sleep in is more beneficial to stay focused the next day.”

Another junior, Claire McOmie, agrees with Parasa. McOmie said, “Late start is better in my opinion because it makes it easier to be well-rested which makes focusing easier.” Many students agree with Parasa’s and McOmie’s opinion that getting enough sleep is essential for success for finals. 

Despite the fact that some people have strong opinions, other students have mixed or no opinions on this. Some students enjoy the extra hours of sleep but don’t think it will affect their performance during finals. Junior Selina Zou said, “I think that changing finals into early release from the late start is okay but I prefer late start so I can sleep in and be ready for the final…Honestly, it probably will not affect it much but it will make me mentally prepared.” 

The change in the schedule for finals week is preferred by the students who enjoy the extra time after school but is ill-favored by the students who need sleep to do well on their finals. All in all, there is no definite preference that the student body has for this change.