As May approaches, our International Baccalaureate (IB) juniors and seniors are anticipating one of their biggest academic challenges yet: IB exams. These exams are significant factors in determining whether or not our IB students gain their IB and high school diploma. They’re testaments to everything our students have learned in their courses and allows them to demonstrate their knowledge in a broad range of subjects.

Our school’s IB program has a rigorous curriculum that prepares our students in pursuing a higher education, and this includes final examinations at the end of the year. For many IB students here at Seminole, these exams are very nerve-wracking. Teachers have already started reviewing material taught earlier this school year to ensure that our students feel confident and prepared on exam day. They make sure that Internal Assessments (IAs) are all completed and submitted long beforehand to create enough time for review. Some teachers even dedicate the entire month of April to review and practicing papers.

Although all of this practice may seem dreading to students, it is better to be overprepared than underprepared. Students are also encouraged to self-study during out-of-school hours to ensure that they are prepared for their exams in May. Our IB seniors are released from school beginning April 30th to allow them to focus on these exams, given their difficult nature. This gives them around three weeks to prioritize passing their exams before walking across the stage at graduation. Three weeks is ample amount of time for them to focus on these exams as many exams take place over the course of two days and each subject’s exam is spread out through the month of May.

All IB juniors and seniors were required to attend an informational meeting with Mr. Ellis and Mr. Coleman in the KWC on April 16th. This meeting included information regarding the location of testing, the schedule, what to expect on test day, along with advice and important candidate information that was handed out individually. The IB testing schedule is displayed as follows:

While it may be stressful at the moment, our students are incredibly talented and are all capable of success. Our ‘Noles are dedicated and determined– as they prepare to embark on the end (or halfway point) of their IB journey, one thing is certain: they’re ready to succeed.