Following a petition created by the Jones Student Government calling for the implementation of a “help only” policy for finals, Jones administration has officially shifted finals to a “held harmless” format. The petition, released Tuesday, Jan. 18, reached over 1000 signatures in under a day’s time.  

The new format, still requiring students to attend all final exams and sit down/complete each assessment, now declares that a student’s grade can only be improved by their score. No final exam is allowed to lower a student’s grade.

“Due to the unusual circumstances and following extensive feedback and discussion, we have decided to place all semester exams/assessments on a “hold harmless” basis,” said Jones administration in a written document covering the new changes.

Here is the official statement regarding the new finals format:

“Semester 1 final exams/assessments, regardless of the form they take, will be “held harmless” with regard to a student’s semester grade. A student’s grade on a final exam/assessment may help, but not lower the student’s semester grade.”

Recently, many students have found themselves infected with COVID-19 and forced to miss school as a result of the rise in cases across the city. Additionally, a four-day Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) lockout left many students concerned about approaching finals with four lost days under their belts. The petition by SGA only solidified those concerns.

“The purpose of this change is to help lessen the stress of this particular semester exam period, not to exempt students from making an honest effort to do well,” said administration in the same document.

It is also important to note that prior to Jones’ decision to alter finals, schools such as Lane Tech, Walter Payton, and Northside had already made their own changes to the formatting of finals. In the case of Lane Tech, finals were completely canceled.