Assessment in Brief (10)
At the end of the two-year programme, students are assessed both internally and externally in ways that measure individual performance against stated objectives for each subject.
Internal Assessment
The IB DP curriculum requires that students complete a major “project” in each IB Diploma subject they undertake enabling them to apply the knowledge and skills they are learning in the class to the assessment task. Such projects are formally called Internal Assessments (IA) because they are assessed “internally” by the subject teachers. To ensure consistency, IA projects are also moderated by IB examiners. The moderation process is an important part of maintaining consistency, fairness, high standards, and accountability in the IB Diploma Programme.
Some assessment tasks are conducted and overseen by teachers without the restrictions of examination conditions, but are then marked externally by examiners. Examples include Written tasks for Language A and Language B Acquisition, Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essays.
External Assessment
In May of the second year of the IB Diploma Programme, students will undertake IB Diploma examinations based on two years worth of teaching materials. Due to the degree of objectivity and reliability provided by the standard examination environment, externally marked examinations form the greatest share of assessment for each subject. Please note however that some subjects have larger percentages than others, and so this may be a reason to think or choose certain subjects over others. Visual Arts, Theatre do not have any external examinations for instance. Design Technology has the largest percentage of Internal Assessment within the Science group. Please see Figure 1 - Below which shows the percentages for all subjects that DCSG offers.
The grading system is criterion based (results are determined by performance against set standards, not by each student’s position in the overall rank order); validity, reliability and fairness are the watchwords of the Diploma Programme’s assessment rubric and philosophy.
Diploma Programme students follow six courses: three at Higher Level and three at Standard Level. The points awarded for each course range from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). Students can also be awarded up to three additional points for their combined results on the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge (See Table below.) The highest total score for the IB Diploma that may be awarded is 45 points.
Bonus Points - Assessment Matrix
| TOK /EE | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
A |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
Failing Condition |
|
B |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
C |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
D |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
E |
Failing Condition |
||||
The Diploma is awarded to students who gain at least 24 points, subject to certain minimal levels of performance across the whole Diploma and to satisfactory participation in Creativity, Activity and Service.
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IB students have brought a great energy, determination and diversity to our campuses and they have adapted extremely well to University studies and life, no doubt in part thanks to the nature and academic rigour of the IB. - Sir Rick Trainor Principal at Kings College London