Seniors 2019: Sleepless Nights, Anxious Days

Our seniors were given their first set of official predicted grades on October 22. Naturally, many seniors were feeling uneasy and unsure about their predicted grades and college applications before this was handed out. However, some were sure of their predicted grades due to clarification during parent-teacher conferences and conversations with teachers beforehand. But this did not mean the official report did not upset them.

Senior Selina K. stated she has “two new teachers this year and both are for my higher level courses.” What made her nervous about predicted grades was the absence of an understanding between herself and the teachers from year one. New teachers instructing IB year two classes have only seen their current students for around two months. The thing that makes seniors nervous about this process is the fact that they may not understand their entire journey through IB. Jee Su K., another senior, felt similarly when she described, “things are happening too quickly and everything feels rushed even though I have turned in my extended essay.” On one hand, some seniors have a great deal of frustration on their minds due to their workload. On the other hand, there are others like Ariel Y. who simply reply, “No comment” when asked about their feelings towards the stress.

Before predicted grades came out, Ms. Martin-Bauer instructed all teachers to be optimistic but realistic in their predictions. Some seniors, like Winnie C., explained, “the ambiguity is giving us stress because we’re not sure what the predicted grades are based on.” Senior Angela L. agreed with Winnie as she felt, “at times teachers predict lower than your grades because they feel you would score lower.”

After speaking to a few teachers of different subjects, I tried to understand why some teachers may predict lower or higher than the students’ overall grades. Mr. Seiple illustrated the two different components the science department looks at to predict grades for students. He said, “we look at the overall grade the student has so far in the course. An ‘A’ usually results in a 6 or 7, a ‘B’ usually results in a 5, a ‘C’ usually results in a 4 and if the student is struggling, then it’ll be a 3 or below.” However, he continued to say that they also look at trends in their grades. For instance, if a student has been getting ‘C’s in the past but recently has started getting ‘B’s or ‘A’s on test assessments, teachers “usually bump them up to a higher predicted grade, and rarely have [they] ever predicted a student down.” But if a student is predicted lower, it is usually because the teacher “feels the student is giving up in that class.”

Ms. Barga felt she spoke on behalf of most of the English department as she explained that, while April predicted grades come from relatively mathematical calculations, the October PGs are more holistic, based on teachers’ estimates of students’ potential. She said that if her prediction “is on the border then [she] usually predicts up for the first set of official predicted grades.” However, she explained that as May approaches, she tends to also consider the students’ test-taking skills and test anxiety issues. To predict a 6 for a student “doesn’t necessarily mean all of their work has to be at a 6. As long as I see they are going into that direction, and I know they are not a student that will slack off in second semester,” then a 6 is likely for the student.

Mr. Kennett, who teaches IB History, depicted a new teacher’s perspective on predicted grades. He claimed it is difficult to put students at ease as a new teacher because “seniors are so worried about predicted grades for their college applications. As a new teacher coming in, there is an extra layer of nervousness in the students,” which is something senior Selina K. noted previously, “but [new teachers] use their experience from the past in terms of giving accurate predicted grades” and considering all internal, summative, and formative assessments, as well as the student’s general knowledge about the course. He also noted that AISG’s seniors were “in many ways the same as the previous seniors [he] taught” but he felt his previous students were more stressed because they were only applying to European universities which take predicted grades seriously. Meanwhile, most of AISG’s seniors have a wider range of universities they apply to, which focus on extra-curriculars, college essays, interviews, SAT scores etc.

Besides predicted grades, extended essays have been a serious issue for some seniors. Although most have handed them in, there are a few that are straggling. Those who have handed it in surely feel that a weight has been lifted off their shoulders, but the grading of the extended essay still makes them nervous. For instance, although Winnie Choi has handed in her essay, she feels uneasy about how one 4000-word essay can make or break two years of effort put into IB. The fact that someone that has never met you or known about your existence quite literally has the power to not grant you your IB diploma is a scary thought.

A fellow senior, Michelle Chen, elaborated on this thought by explaining her situation with her Chinese extended essay. She explained that although her advisor, Ms. Erica, feels her essay is strong, “it entirely depends on how the examiner views your topic and writing skills.” Hence, I asked some extended essay advisors for their advice for juniors who will start choosing topics for their extended essays soon. For language extended essays, especially English, Ms. Barga advised that it’s better to write about an author or text that is respectable and notable in the area of your investigation. This is because examiners usually look down on pop-culture related topics and value your own unique analysis of respectable authors or texts more. For instance, in the past, a student that received a 7 in the course received a C on his extended essay due to his choice of the Song of Fire and Ice (Game of Thrones) novel series as the text for the essay.

Although this year there haven’t been any Chemistry extended essays, Mr. Seiple claimed, in the past, he “had an EE come in to [him] the day before EE scores had to be submitted and it was miserable for the student.” He advised juniors to “think of something that is manageable for their extended essay,” especially for science extended essays, because “an extended essay is not trying to cure cancer, it’s trying to do a manageable project.” He clarified that students often feel their project isn’t important enough, but every examiner is aware that high school students are conducting these experiments. On the other hand, “it needs to be a good experiment, the design should be good, thoughtful, creative, and something they can see a pathway for.” He elaborated, “if you’re just generally picking chemistry because chemistry seems interesting then it’s a warning sign for you”; however, “if a student suggests that they really like biochemistry, the idea of medicine or environmental chemistry,” then there is probably something you can work with.

As of now, these are a few topics of concerns we hear from seniors this year, and there are definitely more that will follow with November’s deadlines rushing toward us. So, if you see a senior giving up on life in the hallway, try to motivate them with a simple, “it’s almost over,” or “six weeks till the semester ends!—you’ll get through it, don’t worry.”