Exam Week

Before exams, is a week of studying, called revision week. I have been working hard to prepare my students – giving practice exams, classwork, homework and as much help as I can give. This is followed by grading and giving as much feedback as possible. 

This week is exam week, which should really be exam weekS because it lasts for 9 days. We have exams at the end of each quarter. Each test about 2 hours each takes an entire day because students need to “study”.  Proctoring exams, called “invigilating”, is seriously one of the most boring things ever. Cheating is a common practice so you actually have to watch the students for the entire exam time. Grading exams is one of the next most boring thing. Luckily, I have a Peace Corps training session during exam week so I was able to finish my exams the first days of exam week and take an early break from school.

For maths, I have 155 students. 24 of my students passed. And passing means getting 50% or more. It’s feels disheartening when only 15% of your students pass. And my exam is not difficult. there are no trick problems, the entire test is very straightforward and I have given student many examples of exact problems that will be on my tests. 

Many volunteers talk about how being a Peace Corps Volunteer is less about what you teach in the classroom and more about being a role model and a resource and a positive influence. Because I spend so much time and effort writing lesson plans, trying to give my students more practice, and introducing new teaching methods, that message is not something that I have wanted to embrace, but after my exam results, I guess it is something that I will have to.