The dreaded day has come… In my 11 years of teaching, I’ve never been “graded” using a test. Technically, I didn’t take the test, but my first set of IB history students did.
Is it fair to measure a teacher’s success based on the performance of their students? No, I don’t think so.
That being said, I was unsure if my teaching strategies would work with an IB class. My class is more about fun activities more-so than anything else, and I absolutely hate test prep for the most part since it takes the fun out of learning. I also never took IB in high school, because Rancho Alamitos only offered AP classes, which I did pretty well in regardless.
I really only had a few goals in mind.
Goal 1: Make sure all my students pass. And they surely did! Even the ones that were a bit more questionable and lazy during the school year. A 4 out of 7 is considered a passing score in IB.
Goal 2: Match last year’s students performance at the very minimum. My students not only matched last year’s students, they vastly OVERPERFORMED not only last year’s class, but the very few grade reports I could access from the last 8 years. I can probably share more detailed scores later, but let’s just say I’m excited and happy they did a good job. Which means I probably will continue teaching IB for many years to come.
This is great news because I was very insecure for the most part, and felt imposter syndrome teaching this class throughout the school year. But somehow it all worked out. Maybe they were inspired by the Pokemon Cards, letters, or simulations, but I doubt it.
It honestly might have just been the cohort. This is truly the greatest set of students I’ve had the pleasure to teach. Could it just be a fluke? I’m not sure.
Now, I’m unsure how much to change my curriculum for the following year knowing how well they did (especially since next school year is the last version of this test, until the changes for the 2028 exam). Maybe a few tweaks here and there instead of a complete overhaul.
In the end, I’m grateful for a great set of students, and to enter the next school year with a bit more confidence. I will say that I have evolved from a Charmander to a Charmeleon, and hope to get my Charizard wings soon.
