May 22, 2026 - Secondary School Principal Blog

Exams are one of many types of assessment that we use at ISY to develop a fair and accurate understanding of students' academic achievement levels. 

For an assessment to be effective in helping us develop a fair and accurate understanding of what each student understands, we must be clear in our purpose for the assessment. Here are four reasons why students in Grades 9 and 10 sit final exams at ISY:

1. Experience: In Grade 12, students will sit IB Diploma exams. It is important that students feel confident and capable of showing what they know in an exam. To feel confident and capable in an exam, it is important for our students, with the support of their teachers, to experience exam conditions (no talking, sitting in rows, time limits, being supervised by a proctor, etc). With the support of their teachers, students will learn that they are able to show what they know in exam conditions. After the exams, teachers will help students reflect on their exam experience to develop more confidence and capability for next time.

2. Technique: Like sport or playing a musical instrument, good exam technique is very important for students to be able to show what they are capable of. Students also feel more confident going into an exam if they know they have good techniques to study for and sit exams. Our teachers have studied and will share with students the following proven study techniques summarized in this Strengthening the Student Toolbox article.

• Practice testing: self-testing or taking practice tests on material to be tested in the exam.

• Distributed practice: making a schedule of study that spreads out different subjects or study activities over time.

• Interleaved practice: making a schedule of study that mixes different kinds of problems or questions in one study session.

• Self-explanation: explaining to yourself (or another person) how to use what you know to answer a question or solve a problem.

Here is a simple explanation of these proven study techniques.

Learning techniques like these will help students develop a study timetable that works for them. Teachers will also tell students what type of questions they can expect on the exams and share techniques that will help answer them.

3. Review: Exams provide an opportunity to review previously taught skills and knowledge that teachers have identified as important to consolidate for students to build on next year. Teachers will tell students what will be tested and how it will be tested.

4. Data: To develop a fair and accurate assessment of a student’s academic achievement level, teachers use data from different assessments throughout the year. As students learn to sit exams, it is important for students to understand that a Final Exam is just one important assessment that teachers gather data from to understand what their academic achievement level is. The grade on the final report card comes from assessment data gathered throughout the year, including the Final Exam.

We are excited to invite families to our upcoming Secondary School Music Concert. This special evening will feature performances by Band 6, Band 7, Band 8, High School Music, and individual student performances. Thank you for your continued support of our music program. We look forward to celebrating an evening of wonderful music together!

We have already started planning our Chinthe Expeditions for next year. At this stage, we are pleased to announce our dates and destinations. More information will follow as we move closer to the departure date.