Finals should not be mandatory this year. Many students have not had normal circumstances this year from a national pandemic, fires, deaths, and quarantine. This has also affected students academics. Not learning in person for the last few weeks before finals, and having almost all tests and assignments online have hindered students from their full potential. Many students are struggling in classes due to lack of in-person instruction for review. Additionally, with the shortened schedules, students and teachers are losing essential time to learn and review for finals. Furthermore, students can use the time that is spent for finals to further review what was learned this year, but without it affecting students grades. Every student has worked very hard this year even with the inconvenience of online school, short days, and less in-person instruction, so creating a test that covers everything this year seems unfair, as teachers rushed and cut lessons short to fit in a quick-paced day. Although finals are a normal way to end the semester, due to the climate of our state and county, many students feel that finals should be made optional for those who want to increase their grades. If students are forced to take finals, they may further hurt their grades, and cause even more stress from this already difficult year. Please take the time to sign this petition to plead for optional finals this year for all Huntington Beach High School students. If many students sign we can take it up to the board. Thank you.