Beginning in the spring semester of the 2024-2025 school year, Bob Jones High School implemented an exam-exemption policy that allows students to skip their final exams. In order to be able to be exempt, you have to have an 85% or higher, participate in all state tests for your year, 3 days or fewer in In-School Suspension, no days of Out-of-School Suspension or Alternative School, no unexcused absences, and the main problem point: 5 excused absences or fewer.

Now, most students who can exempt are usually very diligent in their work, keeping grades high and rarely missing a day of school, while people who might not be able to exempt might struggle with a certain subject or constantly be out of class for some reason. But what happens when one person gets sick? What happens when someone gets hurt? When they have a doctor’s appointment? All it takes is one too many, and then all of a sudden, the exemption is gone forever. 

Let’s take my Creative Writing class, for example. I know several students had As in the class, but they had one too many absences, so they couldn’t be exempted from the final. In my Economics class, the only people who couldn’t be exempted were the ones who missed too much school. With this exemption policy, diligent students are scared. Scared of getting sick, scared of missing school, of ruining their perfect attendance, and losing their chance to exempt their exams. I’ve heard people talking about coming to school with strep or the flu, just because they couldn’t risk their exemptions. I strongly believe that only 5 absences is too harsh on these students. 

Instead of having just 5 absences, maybe this school could implement a different incentive system. Maybe have 5 doctor’s excuses allowed and 5 parent excuses allowed, just to ease the pressure of needing perfect attendance and getting sick. Without the pressure, students might not come to school sick and risk getting others sick, and they can comfortably have other things going on in their lives without worrying about school things. It makes things so much easier for everyone.