As 2021 comes to an end, the ominous anxiety of finals grips Riordan’s campus.

Riordan is implementing a new standards based assessment grading system where students show their understanding of different class aspects in order to receive an A.

This change was administered because “Most tests assess a students ability to memorize, and that really isn’t a skill we want students to prioritize,” said Dean of Academics Nate Simon ’99.

Many teachers at Archbishop Riordan are using projects in order to assess students’ understanding of these standards. This year students are not required to complete long, sit down finals. Instead, these standard based projects will take the place of traditional final exams.

Senior Aiden Geraldi said, “This year’s finals allow seniors to manage work more efficiently in a time where finals coincide with many college admissions applications.”

English literature teacher Brian Kosewic ’16 said, “I think it’s beneficial for English because the skills we are assessing is a student’s ability to produce writing on the subject and speak about it.”

He added, “So in my class students have been working on an in depth research essay over the last few weeks and they will use the class time during finals week to present their research and arguments which simulates the type of scholarly research they will be doing in college.”

Riordan students can rest assured that standards based finals will paint a more accurate picture of a student’s knowledge.