Although having finals after break seems like a nuisance, there can be some positives. For example, having it after gives students time to ruminate over the content they’ll be tested on to determine what they do and don’t know. When they return to school they will be able to more effectively study the topics they don’t know very well. Another pro can be that students may have more time to themselves to look over the material. Furthermore, since teachers don’t have to fit finals in before break, they don’t feel as rushed to teach content, which also means that students won’t feel pressured to understand everything their teachers are teaching in one go. Having finals before break also has its pros. For one, scheduling finals week for before break would mean that break would actually get to be a break from school. It would allow students to not have to stress about having to take finals when they get back from break while they simultaneously try to spend time with their families. Furthermore it’s an unrealistic expectation to expect students to study over break. Everyone is either on vacation or is hanging out with their friends and family, which is the whole point of giving students winter break in the first place. Also, considering the whole point of finals, which is to test how much students have learned over the course of the first 4 months of school, it logically doesn’t make sense to give students the hardest exam of the year after a two-week break of not having class. Students are bound to not perform as well because of this system. This results in teachers not getting the most accurate results of how much their students learned. Also, right after finals is the start of the second semester. This means students are going into the new semester burnt out and tired from finals week, shares Nandini Trivedi (11).  

According to Princeton Alumni Weekly, “Surveys found that students want to move finals before winter break to reduce stress. Eighty-one percent of undergraduates said that scheduling finals in January made them feel stressed over winter break, and 79 percent said it made them spend less time with family and friends over the break.”​​ Is this a proactive way for students to be spending their break? School is intended to educate students, not only in subjects like language arts and math, but also how to take care of themselves and dedicate time to maintaining healthy relationships with family and friends. Holding finals week after break does not reflect this, therefore, finals week should be held before break.