Finals are right around the corner. What should your final look like to gauge your student’s learning at the school year end that keeps in mind social-emotional wellness and fairness to our students in these unique times?

I believe until we are back in the physical classroom, the way finals used to look, especially at the high school level, should be put in the drawer for now. In light of an extremely dynamic school year with virtual learning at home, a U.S. Presidential election like no other, horrific happenings throughout our nation, almost on a daily basis, the pandemic woes, vaccination updates, social unrest, and racial concerns, our students have lived through a lot this school year, and still needed to do school at home.

And, add what’s going on at home, and our students have a lot on their mental and emotional plate.

In this post, I will provide your five strategies to give your finals a 20-21 SY facelift to, 1) give you a final that measures students’ knowledge and understanding, 2) makes students feel the final is not a big task, and 3) to increase the probability your students will complete it, complete it with effort, and submit it for credit.

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