Even With Absences, Some LTHS Students Can Avoid Final Exams

It's what every high school student wants to know: How can I get out of taking final exams?

This semester at Lyons Township High School, which began Aug. 23, attendance will not play a role in deciding whether students qualify for final exam exemption.

This is a continuation of a change to the policy first made in April 2009 during the height of an H1N1 flu outbreak, which affected a handful of LTHS students; schools could not risk students choosing to come to class with a contagious sickness just to avoid absences.

Prior to the implementation of such adjustments, the rule was characterized by one specific stipulation that frustrated many students and parents alike: a student could not take more than three absences from any one class per semester.

"If I got legitimately sick, I could either stay home for a week and take all of my finals, or bite the bullet and go to school under the weather in order to exempt a final," said Cooper Heinz, a senior LTHS honor roll student. "I had to decide which was the lesser of two evils, I guess you could say."

Now, if a student would like to avoid taking a final exam, their record cannot include any suspensions or truancies, nor more than four tardy-marks in any class; and, they must have at least a C- grade in the class.

"We are hopeful that the changes that have been made to the final exam exemption policy will underscore the importance of punctuality and encourage good behavior," said Dave Franson, principal of the two-campus high school, which educates about 3,500 students total. "We believe that all four of those features are things that students should be able to achieve."

While students may rejoice in the fact their diligence in attendance may not be so highly scrutinized, their delight may be short-lived.

"The change will be monitored closely during this year, and will be evaluated in the spring whether or not to keep it in effect or to make certain alterations to the policy," Franson said. "The original intent of the final exam exemption policy was to find a positive incentive to improve attendance."

While the good intentions of the plan were duly noted, the flaws within the policy manifested themselves at an early stage.

"In a system that includes an incentive tied to attendance, there is a risk of students coming to school, when, due to illness, they should stay at home," Franson said.

Initial modifications to the policy were made under the advice of health officials.

"The Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization was admonishing schools everywhere to not tie any incentive programs to attendance because of the H1N1 'pandemic'," Franson said. "That was the core of the rationale for eliminating the attendance element of the policy."