As we reach the end of the last trimester, most students are finished with school work and ready for the next year. However, some students are still needing to finish their schoolwork and begin rushing and stressing to get their work done.
A student voice network (KSVT) reports that during the last week of school, stress levels spike dramatically. Over 75% of students report feeling extreme or significant stress, primarily driven by finals, grade pressure, and fear of failure. This end-of-semester pressure often triggers physical and mental exhaustion.
Pasco High teacher Ceaser Martinez was asked how much late work he gets the last few weeks of school and if he stresses about it.
“I don’t stress. I end it (schoolwork) on the last week for late work but I think it’s about 25% of the work comes in. A lot of individual assignments come in that should have been turned in weeks ago,” he said. “It depends on the unit if a lot of people are missing one or two assignments or one major assignment from each unit.”
”I don’t really sweat it because I get it done. It’s my job and that’s what we do, so if this is as hard as my job is, then I love my job,” he added.
This shows how much late work a teacher has to deal with, even late work from the beginning of the trimester. Many students decide to try to finish their work the last week in attempt to pass the class.
According to education website Edutopia, an estimated 80% to 95% of students procrastinate, with up to 50% doing so chronically. During the final week of the school year, this behavior peaks as students attempt to complete papers, study for exams, or catch up on late assignments to salvage their grades.
Pasco High senior Olman Veliz was asked if he had any late work he had to finish and if he was dealing with stress.
“I do and it doesn’t bother me too much because I know I can finish the work before I’m not able to turn it in anymore,” he responded.
Some students have to rush some late work and don’t stress as much because they know even though they have the late work, they’ll finish before the due date.
“I have a lot of school work to finish before the end of the trimester,” said Marvin Alvarez, another Pasco High senior. “I’m really stressed but I feel confident that I will finish all work before the trimester ends.”
Marvin represents the students that have a bunch work and are really stressed but know that they can still have the time to finish their late work before school is over.
