Practice makes a man perfect. Women are no exception, either.
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” as quoted by our beloved bard of Avon.
There is no better way to play your roles than to keep playing and learning in the process. Rehearsal is the key to establishing your place on the stage. What makes IB mock exams any different?
Concepts, revision, mocks, revision, and final day!
Sitting in exams is a long-held journey that begins with leaning into concepts and ends with settling them on paper. Every step is as important as the others, and skipping one can wash away months of your efforts. Sitting in mock exams is one of them, and an imperative one.
Introduction to IBDP Mock Exams
IB mock exams are exams set internally by the Schools for their students before they venture into the intricacies of the final exams. These are assessed internally and are not sent to IB. These are set almost two months before the final exams, which occur twice a year—in May and November months. Students can choose to sit for any one of them.
At times, we all have wondered about these mock exams’ imperativeness. This is a common notion among students that, since their grades are not included in the final grading, this is an unnecessary inconvenience. But this seems to be a notion based on the pressure these exams hold. Let’s try to explore its importance from different angles.
- Small-town Philosophy:
I belong to a small town, and when I left my home to move to a big city, everything felt alien to me. With all the knowledge I accumulated over my living years, it was challenging to navigate my life with a practical eye. It wasn’t because I lacked knowledge, but probably because I was new to the place and everything was unfamiliar. I hadn’t yet trodden through its roads, parks, markets, etc. But once I got used to the place, it didn’t feel as difficult as it used to be. It is the same with mock exams. They are a replication of the final IB exams. We apply our accumulated knowledge to practice, and familiarity is generated in the process—not just with the pattern but with the surroundings as well. Understanding builds a comfortable space where you can perform better more often than not. So, IB mock exams, by simulating the conditions of the final exams, help you create a safe space for yourself.
- Barometer of preparedness:
How do you gauge your performance before actually performing on stage? Replication and testing. You work consistently on improving your conceptual and theoretical knowledge. You study every day, with your customised schedules on your walls, so that you can get something worthwhile out of your efforts. One of them is scoring good marks in your final exams, leading you to other fruitful endeavours. It becomes essential to determine the level of your preparedness so that you can do a SWOT analysis of your study and work towards improving your weak areas along with your strengths. For instance, if you answered all formula-based mathematics questions incorrectly, you now know that you need to gulp all formulas more strategically. Thus, IB mock exams act as a tool that determines how well you are prepared for your final exams and as a compass to navigate through further preparation.
- Time management is the key:
When there are quite a few keys in the keyring—only one of which is working—to a single locked door, it becomes difficult to open a lock in time unless you mark the correct key for the next round. When you sit for IB mock exams, you can gauge your limitations and formulate a strategic plan that suits you for your final round. If you try to develop your strategy for efficient time management, then with the correct key, opening a door would not be difficult. You will reach your comfortable house and, in this case, your dream University.
- Prediction of grades:
Prediction is not a prophecy that will fulfil itself at all costs. But these IB mock exams will help you predict your speculative scores so that you can apply to relevant universities beforehand. And if the predicted scores are not leading you anywhere, they will help you upgrade your latest game and motivate you to expend more in the process.
- Healthy competition:
Although scores are not the barometer of judging and comparing among students, with a healthy approach, one can learn to appreciate the healthy competition that not only enhances the confidence of students in the front row but also motivates students standing all around to become privy to their strategies and techniques of applying knowledge practically. Some techniques will be relevant for all; everybody can pick those strategies and techniques.
- Where do you stand in the crowd?
These IB mock exams could act as a microcosm of judging yourself in the purview of large groups of students so that you can estimate your competition while applying for higher-level studies.
- Mitigates anxiety:
Mock tests are an effective way to prepare for an upcoming exam, as they give you a feel for the real thing. By simulating the exam and exam environment, including the time limit, types of questions, and format, mock tests help you become more familiar with the actual exam. This will boost your confidence and mitigate your anxiety levels when you can easily navigate through other areas of exams, such as reaching the hall early because you know where it is and things like that, your anxieties are less triggered.
The game of IB mock exams is not a foolproof way of getting high scores because various factors play a role. It usually acts as trial and error, where you make mistakes and then formulate strategies on that basis so that you can dive into the final round with confidence and preparedness. But even if it is not a foolproof method, it still has all the attributes of winning a game with better propensities.
