Throughout June 14th and 15th, the Renton High School library was closed to accommodate juniors in the IB program who spent part of their day taking their Individual Oral Commentary or IOC test. This test is not unlike a spoken essay. Students are given time to review their notes and then must choose an unknown passage to annotate and speak on. The whole process takes around an hour and must be completed by every junior in IB Language Arts.

On the days prior to IOCs, students received a pass that excused them from class and told them to go to the library. Once there, students signed in and were told to wait for their names to be called. Students had 10 minutes or so to review all the passages they may be assigned. If students arrived early than they had that time to review as well.

On library tables there was water and a variety of snacks, giving students an opportunity to feel relaxed and comfortable before testing started. No other students were in the library besides those taking the IOC, so it was very quiet as well.

Once student names were called, they moved to another part of the library and were instructed to pick a passage. These passages were all face down to ensure students would not know what they were picking. Possible passages included anything from authors Langston Hughes, Kate Chopin, and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Passages had to be around 40 lines, but other than that there were no real restrictions.

After receiving their passage, students had around 20 minutes to annotate their text and formulate an essay outline with their key points. After the 20 minutes was up they were called by their examiner, moved to another room, and then started their commentary. The three examiners this year were Ms. Khelghatian, Ms. O’Roarty, and Ms. Sol. Just like with the passages, students did not know the examiner they would have when they signed up for their time slot.

Once in the room where they would be speaking, students were encouraged to aim for at least 11 minutes of consistent speech. They were asked guiding questions as well if they went under the time allotted. Regardless, the students had a hard maximum time of 15 minutes and would be cut off it they went over that time.

After completing their IOC students were given both a medal and an IB shirt as recognition for their accomplishment. Examiners and library staff alike were once again accommodating and encouraging, allowing the juniors to feel proud of what they had completed.

Photo taken from: https://www.haikudeck.com/individual-oral-commentary-education-presentation-5a050f22b2#slide0