How do you deal with bad grades?

[faith]

I just screwed up my biology test today and it took me quite a while to get over it. Scary questions kept on popping into my mind, "What if I end up getting a 5 in this test and the score goes into my transcript which will be seen by the colleges I'm applying to?"

I know what the rational solution to this problem is: We can't change the past; the only thing we can do is to learn from our mistakes and do better in the next test.

However, it is still really difficult to deal with bad test results emotionally, despite the fact that we know it is stupid and pointless to worry about things we cannot change. Since most of us are probably bombarded by tests and assessments constantly, I'm curious to know about how other IB students deal with bad grades.

[Sandwich]

Fortunately the only exams which counted for us were the mocks at the end of IB1 and of course the real things, so tests didn't impact on anything except for our teachers possible predictions when it came to the mocks (and even then a bit of begging could get you predicted a bit more), so bad test results didn't seem like such a major thing (I mean obviously they worried you about your future results).

I had a bit of difficulty adjusting to IB tests and exams (in that I was used to doing well, ahah) but after the first term or so, I'd come to accept test failure as part of who I was Really, I just had to teach myself to get over them like you suggested. I pretended it hadn't happened and then went back over that section particularly for the mocks. There's no easy way to get over messing up tests except for looking at other people and seeing everybody messed up (obviously you have to do selective looking of people you know might have done worse than you for ultimate consolation ). Getting rid of your expectations that you'll be very good is difficult, but I finally did it by just figuring that tests are redundant anyway. Provided you know it for the real things, it's all cool.

The mentality of failure is difficult!

[Taigan]

I just use my previous bad grades as motivation for the future. This has worked in the past for me: I was so afraid I'd repeat my mistakes that I basically just revised everything all over again, as best as I could (although, I DON'T recommend attempting such feats in the IB). Once I did this, I was confident, and I was able to achieve more. Sure, it's emotional at the time, but looking back, you'll realize that it was all necessary. I mean, I'd rather be emotional when I get bad grades rather than one of those students whose just indifferent. Right?

[Zahid Ladha]

Everyone in this world has a bad day...one day or the other.

Today was your bad day =(

Tomorrow will be a good day =)

Lets hope we see less of the bad days and more of the good days.

Have a nice day! =)

Remember: Work Hard! And always have a smile!

[Peachez]

Of course the tests that we have throughout the two IB years are only used for predicted grades which means nothing whatsoever. It is the EXAMS that Universities rely on the most. For those of you who are bad at taking tests when you are under pressure or when you are unable to do it because of the time limit, I feel very bad for you. Unfortunately, Universities do not care about this whatsoever. I wish i was the kind of person who is a good worker under preassure, which I am definitely not.

But, the way I deal with the bad grades that I get during tests is fairly simple. I just say to myself that I will study hard for the next test and if there is a posibility of retaking the test I got a bad grade on I will definitely do it and get a much better grade because I would do every problem possible to make the chapter/unit clear to me.

Do not give up hope just because of a bad grade on a test or an essay or anything else, we are human beings, we make mistakes, its natural!

[Chelleee]

well. bluntly the worst grade i ever got (so far) was a D+, and that was for an economics paper (had absolutely no idea about what on earth all the concepts were )

at first it was disappointment and i did kinda go into the emotional phase

but then it didn't take me long to get out of it

all i got out of that was: thank god it's only a practice, next time i'll do everything i can to make sure i don't make the same mistake again.

so i guess you just have to learn from your mistakes and move on

but of course your still entitled to that day of moping and indulging in comfort foods

[meh]

I know what you mean - getting a bad grade on something important can really bring me down for a couple days. I tend to get mad at myself, which actually motivates me to do better so I can prove to myself that I AM capable of doing well and probably just had an off day. It's also comforting for me to remind myself that 10 years from now that the score I got on one test probably won't matter. If you've been doing well on everything else then this one bio test probably won't make a big difference. Also keep in mind that a lot of people imagine they do a lot worse on things than they really did, especially IB kids (or at least the ones in my class). Perhaps you actually got a decent grade afterall =]

[genius wannabe]

The people who said their tests and assignments don't count for anything are so lucky ! Here, we have to fulfill the provincial curriculum as well, so everything we do is assessed! so definitely low marks stress me out, but usually I pretend they never happened Literally, that is what I end up doing because I can't accept I did that bad! But most of the time we have some sort of replacement situation where we can replace low marks with higher ones if we're doing well, so I look forward to acing that. More often than not, I do really well on replacement tests, so so far it's been kay. as I start actual IB, though, I don't know how I'm going to deal. Might just have to accept that I'm achieving low marks !

For example, the last batch did not score higher than 11/20 on the Historical Investigation, and it worries me because they got marked down by IBO. So I think I'm just going to have to adjust ...

[moneyfaery]

Bad grades... hmm, that's happened a few times, including all my failed math tests. (Failed as in 3/4, I think ; really hate trig). Sooooo I deal with bad grades by distracting myself with something else more interesting. Or just mentally suppressing it and moving on to something else that needs to be done/studied for. Long showers and naps are helpful too (for me, at least).

Or if all else fails, you can just cry it out like most people did after Math HL P1 TZ1/P2 TZ2.

[Berns099]

English, History and Film: Cry a bit

Chemistry: Accept it.

Maths: Pretty used to it.

Spanish: Doesn't happen

[Summer Glau]

Ice Cream and a great upbeat song! Try some techno or anything with a positive and happy feel to it!

[Taigan]

I actually prefer to listen to sadder songs when I feel let down. I don't know, it helps me relieve stress.

[sweetnsimple786]

I've found that whenever I'm not satisfied with my score is when I know that I haven't put enough effort into it. Getting a 90 on a test that was easy that I didn't study for is much worse than getting an 80 on a test that was really hard that I studied my butt off for, ya know? So when I get upset, I'm upset at myself, and there's not much I can do about it but promise not to screw up as badly next time.

In hindsight, I like the bad grades I get because they motivate me to get strict on myself. The week or weeks following a bad grade, I'll be quite studious. Then when I start pulling up my grades again, I can kinda let go a bit.

For biology, that class is so much information and causes me so much guilt. That guilt is how I know I won't flunk. I mean I don't think that a 5 is a bad grade in the class, but since you're horrified at the thought of a 5, I suppose you're really good at it. Tough love's the remedy, from what I've found. G'luck =)

[Tilia]

I make sure I don't get any bad grades

Honestly, when I got my first maths IA back, I became so angry with myself I didn't know what to do. i hAd spent time on it, and thought it was OK, but apparently it wasn't. It helped a bit that nobody got a good result, but jsut a bit. What did help was to tear apart some papers and to study maths. I studied and studied and when I ended up with 112/125 on a test a couple of weeks later, it felt much better. After all, it's only 10 % and I know I still can get a 7 in maths.

[lastminuteman]

Non-official assessments and tests are supposed to help you show where you are, and where you need to improve.

If it doesn't count for your final IB grade, don't get stressed out on the grade. Get stressed out on how you're going to improve.

If it is, however your final IB grade then uh...

[bohemian03]

i usually just cry.

i cry and cry and cry until i'm sick of crying and just try to move on.

[Caustica]

I get frustrated and I start scrunching paper up and throwing stuff around and acting really immature overall.

Then someone says something smart like "You can't change what you've got" and I magically calm down.

[Austin Glau]

I do not handle it too well.

Response:

1) check the grade again

2) close my eyes, and check the grade again

3) think of all the mean things i can about the teacher

4) complain about the school system and curriculum

5) complain about anything i can relating to the grade

6) start to calm down

7) recieve riducle from parents

8) get mad again

9) after calmed down enough, talk with teacher

[Sparkling]

I don't handle bad grades at all, I just ignore them. I got my first TOK oral really bad, I think I got 2 or possibly 3 points. Didn't really understand anything. That got to me for a second or two, but I've never been one to mope over things I know I can change (not really over things I can't change either to be honest). I discussed with the teacher what went wrong so that I can make it right next time and that is pretty much what I do all the time. Focus on the solution, not the problem* is pretty much how I try to think. If the grade is good then there is no problem so I can be happy for the grade, but if a bad grade starts to make me feel bad I ignore it by focusing my attention on WHAT went wrong and what I can do to make it better next time.

* That got stuck in my head after I started to read a fantasy series (points if you know which one! ). When I read the lines about problems/solutions the first time in the book I was like "Eureka! I knew I knew that." It was an answer to a question I didn't really know I had.

EDIT: Highlighting my point

Edited March 26, 2010 by Sparkling

[BustinJieber]

I always just let it go. If it's a pass, I'll try and improve my mistakes next time. If it's a fail, chances are I didn't try hard enough or just plain f***d up. In that case, TRY SOMETHING NEW!

If all else fails, observe the bigger failures of others! Plot the percentages that you come across on a graph, and calculate where you stand in terms of average grade! Don't forget to includes standard deviation and error bars!