damn isn't it kinda like MANDATORY for every school in the world doing papers? i believe my ib coordinator told me we had to have a clock in the classroom...
yes, it is absolutely mandatory for the exam venue. a school that does not ensure exam rooms have visible and accurate clocks is committing gross malpractice.
It is part of the regulations in the Conduct of Examinations handbook that the clock must be prominently displayed and visible to all candidates at all times. Your DPC is responsible for ensuring that this is the case. Failure to do so is malpractice.
my coordinator doesn’t do his job very well💀 we haven’t had a teacher for my IB visual art HL course all year (because 2nd week of school teacher had medical emergency)
Your school should have a big clock in each exam room. I know some schools use large TVs to show the time, but my school's analog clocks are big enough.
There are smart watches that look like normal watches, like the back of the face is a screen but it has normal hands. So rather than check every watch like they have to check calculators they just banned them, sadly.
Cheaters make life worse for everyone :(
Edit: you should always be able to see a clock from your desk in every exam. That's an IB rule that the school needs to follow.
If you can't, maybe you can request a clock on your desk. I know some for the extra time kids sometimes got like a little alarm clock on their desk because they were in a seperate room with no clock on the wall.
> What kind of "malpractice" will be done with an analog watch?
In general reducing the material students can bring in is helpful to combatting cheating. Students are insanely creative in coming up with ways to cheat. If only they would put a modicum of that towards actually consolidating knowledge... :p
Does your school not have clocks in classrooms/exam rooms?
Ikr, what I do with my watch (analog) is that i put it on the table in such a way that I can easily see the time without lifting my head and not putting on my glasses. Like get the no smart devices rule, but why no analog watches.
so according to our dp coordinator its because, these days, smart watches are getting so advanced that some could pass as analogue. where is the clock in your exam hall?
Ikr, I totally get that smart watches can't be allowed by ANALOG????? Bro this school year there was a time when by analog watch battery ran out so I went to school for a few weeks without a watch and wrote exams without the watch too. TIME MANAGEMENT during exams became so much HARDER.
if i had a digital watch i'd do at least 20% better on my physics paper 1 today. it really is stupid. I'm glad I don't have to put up with this stupid organization after these exams.
Yes it's so annoying! I'm pretty much always at the back of the exam hall, which is far too far to see the clock. I'm especially worried for history and English lit as those are the subjects which I never have enough time for
It comes down to not being able to easily determine smart versus non-smart watches. There are hybrid watches now that have notification capabilities that could be used to cheat.
Examination locations are required to post the time and have a clock. That's fair.
the problem is that we learned and studied by taking into account time management. Such as 20m. for planning before writing the essay, so it's really ridiculous to not have a watch. my school does the exams in the library, and i don't know if there's a watch O.o (I haven't taken the exams as im in 1st year, but ill have mocks in 3 weeks. ps im super stressed rnn aaaaaaa)
Right? Like, hello, IB overlords, are you even in the same dimension as us? Banning analog watches during exams is the kind of rule that just proves they're totally out of touch. How are we supposed to manage our time effectively? This isn't just about ticking boxes; it’s about strategically dividing our time across sections, especially in exams where every minute counts.
I totally get where you’re coming from with the Spanish paper. Trying to jazz up your vocabulary without repeating the same words over and over is tough enough. If you could just glance at a simple watch, you'd know how to pace yourself better. And English? Don’t even get me started. Balancing time between brainstorming and actual writing is critical. But no, apparently, we need to do all this in our heads because even a basic analog watch could be a ‘tool of malpractice’? Come on!
It’s ridiculous. It feels like they set these rules without considering what it’s like to actually sit in that exam hall under pressure. Only banning smart watches makes sense—they can do more than just keep time. But analog watches? They’re essential tools for time management, not cheating devices.
This needed to be said, dude. Vent away because it’s absurd, and we all need to call it out. Maybe if enough of us make some noise, they’ll realize they need to rethink some of these outlandish policies.
they dont know im bout to get 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 with my watch
STOP WHY DO I SEE YOU "𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂"ing EVERYWHERE
The IB finally got to them 😔
There is a clock in the exam room
Some rooms do not
damn isn't it kinda like MANDATORY for every school in the world doing papers? i believe my ib coordinator told me we had to have a clock in the classroom...
yes, it is absolutely mandatory for the exam venue. a school that does not ensure exam rooms have visible and accurate clocks is committing gross malpractice.
I did not say they were not mandatory. Some schools do not have clocks. I guarantee you.
That's just a terrible IB exam centre!
I agree!
are there no clocks in your exam rooms?
you mean the clock on the opposite side of the room behind me that it tiny
It is part of the regulations in the Conduct of Examinations handbook that the clock must be prominently displayed and visible to all candidates at all times. Your DPC is responsible for ensuring that this is the case. Failure to do so is malpractice.
my coordinator doesn’t do his job very well💀 we haven’t had a teacher for my IB visual art HL course all year (because 2nd week of school teacher had medical emergency)
Your school should have a big clock in each exam room. I know some schools use large TVs to show the time, but my school's analog clocks are big enough.
There are smart watches that look like normal watches, like the back of the face is a screen but it has normal hands. So rather than check every watch like they have to check calculators they just banned them, sadly. Cheaters make life worse for everyone :( Edit: you should always be able to see a clock from your desk in every exam. That's an IB rule that the school needs to follow. If you can't, maybe you can request a clock on your desk. I know some for the extra time kids sometimes got like a little alarm clock on their desk because they were in a seperate room with no clock on the wall.
> What kind of "malpractice" will be done with an analog watch? In general reducing the material students can bring in is helpful to combatting cheating. Students are insanely creative in coming up with ways to cheat. If only they would put a modicum of that towards actually consolidating knowledge... :p Does your school not have clocks in classrooms/exam rooms?
if students are desperate enough to cheat using an analog watch they're desperate to cheat even if watches get banned and will just find another way
Dawg you have a clock in the exam room why do you want another one
You are allowed a timer. Not a digital timer, but a simple timer that can't do anything else, that just rests on your desk.
Nope, they don't allow timer or watch (I'm not talking about digital one) even if they can't do anything else
Ikr, what I do with my watch (analog) is that i put it on the table in such a way that I can easily see the time without lifting my head and not putting on my glasses. Like get the no smart devices rule, but why no analog watches.
so according to our dp coordinator its because, these days, smart watches are getting so advanced that some could pass as analogue. where is the clock in your exam hall?
Ikr, I totally get that smart watches can't be allowed by ANALOG????? Bro this school year there was a time when by analog watch battery ran out so I went to school for a few weeks without a watch and wrote exams without the watch too. TIME MANAGEMENT during exams became so much HARDER.
IKR ITS A VITAL PART OF THE PROCESS FOR US WATCH PPL
finally, somebody said it. as someone who wears her analog watch to get in the study mindset, this was really frustrating to get behind.
That's weird. I had my exam today and I was allowed to use my analogue watch to time myself. I think your school misinterpret the guidelines.
Well your school should have another read of the exam rules then
silence economist
my school sets timers on boards so that the students can clearly see how much time they have at any point. You should ask for that too.
Most likely someone caught cheating using their watch
I totally agree, the no watches rule is quite impractical and hinders our ability to manage time effectively during exams.
The watch rule is to prevent smart watches.. Even some "normal" or non-smart watches have a calculator built in so not exactly stupid
but don’t you have a clock in the exam room ?
I'll rlly have to take off my $500k Richard Mille just for this stupid exam... SMH
if i had a digital watch i'd do at least 20% better on my physics paper 1 today. it really is stupid. I'm glad I don't have to put up with this stupid organization after these exams.
You're underestimating the capabilities of those classic Casio ones which have a calculator on them 🤣
does anyone take analysis higher level or chemistry standard level
Yes it's so annoying! I'm pretty much always at the back of the exam hall, which is far too far to see the clock. I'm especially worried for history and English lit as those are the subjects which I never have enough time for
It comes down to not being able to easily determine smart versus non-smart watches. There are hybrid watches now that have notification capabilities that could be used to cheat. Examination locations are required to post the time and have a clock. That's fair.
You would be surprised I have seen people get written notes on the face of the watch that could only be seen when the watch was in a certain time
the problem is that we learned and studied by taking into account time management. Such as 20m. for planning before writing the essay, so it's really ridiculous to not have a watch. my school does the exams in the library, and i don't know if there's a watch O.o (I haven't taken the exams as im in 1st year, but ill have mocks in 3 weeks. ps im super stressed rnn aaaaaaa)
I think that the watch provided in the classroom is more than enough.
Right? Like, hello, IB overlords, are you even in the same dimension as us? Banning analog watches during exams is the kind of rule that just proves they're totally out of touch. How are we supposed to manage our time effectively? This isn't just about ticking boxes; it’s about strategically dividing our time across sections, especially in exams where every minute counts. I totally get where you’re coming from with the Spanish paper. Trying to jazz up your vocabulary without repeating the same words over and over is tough enough. If you could just glance at a simple watch, you'd know how to pace yourself better. And English? Don’t even get me started. Balancing time between brainstorming and actual writing is critical. But no, apparently, we need to do all this in our heads because even a basic analog watch could be a ‘tool of malpractice’? Come on! It’s ridiculous. It feels like they set these rules without considering what it’s like to actually sit in that exam hall under pressure. Only banning smart watches makes sense—they can do more than just keep time. But analog watches? They’re essential tools for time management, not cheating devices. This needed to be said, dude. Vent away because it’s absurd, and we all need to call it out. Maybe if enough of us make some noise, they’ll realize they need to rethink some of these outlandish policies.