(By Stuart Millar and Karol Madrigal)
November 2019 is a month that the 11th and 12th graders are focused on, with exams on the horizon. Our first IB students will take their final exams over a three week period, while 11th grade students will take their final MEP exams in social studies and civics during the first week of November.
However, some might not be aware that a large percentage of a student’s final grade will already have been decided by then. In social studies and civics, 40% of the final grade comes from the classwork, homework and projects that the students have completed since the beginning of 10th grade. Essays, research projects, oral language assessments, visual art exhibitions, and recorded musical performances mean that our IB students will have completed more than half of their assessments by the time the exams come.
What does all this mean if you are a student in 10th, 11th or 12th grade? First, it means everything counts! So, work hard on every piece of classwork, homework, and every project so you can walk into the exam knowing that you have a solid base. If you’re not the most confident in exam taking techniques, then you can feel better about the fact that the exams are not all or nothing. However, in that case it is especially important that you take the exams with some good points already under your belt. For those who excel in exam situations, don’t rely on that to help you achieve a high final grade if you haven’t invested the necessary time and attention in all the other assessments.
It might be a cliché, but the two years leading up to MEP or IB exams are marathons, not sprints. It is vitally important that students give their best effort every day and chip away at all the work they have to do in the years leading up to the final exams. Teachers and parents should remember that every class and every piece of work plays a role in whether a student is as successful as they can be, or not. This is why life skills like organization, time management, attendance, and punctuality are important for all of us.
