Due to the increase of regulations regarding school shutdowns, International Baccalaureate (IB) Exams have been canceled. Seniors in their second year of IB classes and juniors taking one year IB classes were supposed to have final exams in early to mid-May to conclude their one to two years of rigorous classwork. Given that AP exams are continuing online, many people were shocked by the cancellation of IB exams and experienced mixed emotions given the unknown implications this cancellation holds for the end of their high school term. The main question that students and teachers are asking is what will be weighted to form seniors’ final IB diploma markings?

The IB coordinator at AHS, Eileen Knapp, was relieved to hear that many of her students would not have to face the stressful months of spring\; however, she was also faced with stress given the anticipation of what to tell her students and how to plan ahead.

“An email was sent out a day before [from IB] in confidence, but it leaked on Facebook so I had to tell people ‘hold on, wait for the next day,’[when students would be informed] but even the next day [the cancellation] was all I knew,” Knapp said.

Although information from IB is limited, Knapp explains that students’ historical work will be compared to students globally as well as from previous years to underwrite appropriate grades.

“Colleges, I’m assuming, will look at students’ [AHS] grades, but as far as what IB is going to use, they are going to use the predicted grades from the teacher, then they’ll use the IAs, and then all of the external work. They are working with a lot of statisticians to make sure that grades are calculated fairly compared to the world,” Knapp said. “Learning is important, but if we’re not healthy, learning is really hard to do.”

A senior at AHS who is an IB Diploma student, Sophie Wilcox, was originally excited about the cancellation of exams, saying that she could avoid such a stressful study period\; however, when she learned about what her IB scores would be built upon, her emotions changed.

“Things took a turn when we found out about how our IB scores will be given to us based mainly on our IA’s. My IA’s were definitely not my best work because we have to complete several at a time when school is really hard and when dealing with applying for college. Finding out that I would receive a score based on my IA is now a bit frightening, and I’m worried that after the two years of hard work and tears, I might not even get my diploma,” Wilcox said.

Though Knapp promises that IB will be considering multiple assignments and will be trying to predict a fair marking for every student, seniors are struggling with all the changes they have had to adapt to in one of their most important high school times.

“It’s been really hard to see my senior year stripped away from me and my peers. All I can do is remain positive that big things, like graduation, will be held later in the year. However, it is so hard for me and my peers to think that we might not go to our senior prom, and we lost our last chance to play on our close-knit sports teams,” Wilcox said. “I also know its hard, but the more we social distance and listen to what officials are saying, the sooner our lives can go back to normal.

Many teachers, like Sheri Smith, an IB Business teacher at AHS, are doing their best to support their students by recognizing the bigger picture of these changing times.

“I think it is important to remind ourselves that we are not in this alone. Schools around the world are facing very similar circumstances\; some are even facing more severe predicaments. Considering that this is a global pandemic, I think IB made the only call they could,” Smith said.

Smith, Knapp, and the students are in agreement that this is a challenging time for everyone and that adaptations need to be made.

“Our current situation is a less than ideal circumstance for our communities. We are all doing the best we can and, ultimately, just hope that our students are safe, healthy, and well,” Smith said.