IB exams began on April 25, and will continue until May 17, with each exam taking place over two days—except for the Math Analysis HL test, which will take three days.
The exams are broken down into two time periods: morning and afternoon, which require students to arrive at 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively.
The majority of tests are scheduled to take place at the Melody Event Center, though tests for French, World Religions, Physics, and the listening exams for all languages will take place in the library.
This will be the first year Cleveland students take their exams in the Melody Event Center. In previous years, students have tested at Marshall High School, the Fred Meyer conference center, and most recently at the Tiffany Center.
“[With the new location] we’re not crossing the river to get to IB exams. Both locations present some challenges with parking. But I think that closer is better,” explained IB Coordinator Jennifer Wiandt.
Due to the closer location and budget cuts, students will have to figure out their own transportation to the testing location. However, Wiandt does not foresee this causing issues.
“Public transportation goes to the Melody Event Center pretty cleanly,” said Wiandt.
Students taking public transportation will also avoid dealing with parking, which will likely be problematic with 340 students who are testing in 20 different subjects.
“Over the last five years, we have seen huge increases [in the number of students testing],” said Wiandt.
The various English and Biology classes have been the biggest sources of this increase, with 208 and 128 students testing respectively.
The exams will take place during the school day, so students will receive excused absences for the entirety of the day. As a result, many students will experience smaller classes, especially on days such as May 9, when over 200 students will be absent due to their exams.
Students are expected to follow a strict set of rules at their testing site. For example, in most exams, students will only be allowed to write with blue or black ballpoint pens. Additionally, students are prohibited from bringing phones or watches, and water will only be allowed in clear containers.
Although IB tests can be a stressful and potentially expensive process, test scores saved Cleveland students over $2 million dollars in college costs last year alone.
“We all feel a lot of pride in our program during the exam process,” said Wiandt.