“There are two hours of my life I’m never getting back.”
Surely something like this was running through the minds of Grade 10 as they exited their History exam on Monday. They’d just finished a full-length IGCSE exam. Paper 2, to be exact. This is the primary sources exam, in which the students are required to read and analyze speech and letter excerpts and political cartoons. The topic of this exam (both on Monday and in May) is the Treaty of Versailles, that oft-disputed document that officially ended the First World War.
But the true importance of this practice test is not the content, nor are their scores of burning importance. Rather, this exam gave the students an opportunity to feel the exam. Knowing your stuff isn’t good enough–students need to be able to work hard for two straight hours on primary documents they have never seen before. It’s draining.
Students can make life easier on themselves by practicing good time management skills, the other main goal of Monday’s test. By carefully dividing up those two hours, students can ensuring that they not only finish the exam, but that they finish it without melting down from the stress. For this exam I recommend:
First 15-20 minutes: Review all the sources
Next 1-to-1.25 hour: Answer questions 1-5 (10-15 minutes per question)
Final 30 minutes: Answer question 6 and look over all answers
Students will sit mock exams during the final week of January. This is will be a grueling test of their knowledge, understanding, endurance, and time management skills. Every chance we give them to practice is a chance to give them a boost in May.