Assessment

Classroom teachers and IB examiners work in partnership to ensure that students have ample opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned. Responsibility for all academic judgments about the quality of candidates’ work rests with examiners worldwide, led by chief examiners with international authority in their fields. The IBO assesses more than 45,000 DP students annually. Each year, approximately 80% of candidates who attempt the diploma are awarded it.  At McGlashan we have been consistently above this percentage.
An essential element of IB assessment is that standards are the same worldwide. Examiners are trained to assess work from an agreed perspective using common IBO  markschemes and external moderation is employed in every subject. A variety of assessment methods is used to acknowledge both the content and the process of academic achievement and to take into account different learning styles and cultural patterns.   Written examinations Written examinations are given at the end of the two year course. A written examination might consist of two papers, taken separately and sometimes even on different days. Ninety minutes might be allotted for completing paper 1, with up to three hours allocated for paper 2. Examinations may include oral and written, long and short responses, data-based questions, essays, and multiple-choice questions.   Other forms of assessment Specialized forms of assessment appropriate to the nature of a given subject are also used. Visual arts students, for example, submit a “Candidate Record Booklet” containing photographs of their work and a written statement reflecting on the development of their talents and technical skills, but the basis of their examination is an exhibition of their work. Similarly, students of a foreign language are tested for fluency, command of vocabulary, grammar and structure.   Internal assessment External examinations are complemented by internal assessment of coursework by the classroom teachers. This recognizes the professional role of the teacher and gives students a chance to show what they can do over time, not just in the pressured context of a final examination. Internally assessed work usually counts for a minimum of 20% of the final grade in a subject. Because teachers’ grading patterns vary between schools and countries, the IBO evaluates teachers’ marks and may moderate them so that international parity is maintained.  Internal assessment typically includes work done in class, homework assignments, special projects, experimental writeups and notebooks.
Criterion-based grading system The grading system used by the International Baccalaureate Organization is criterion based. Validity, reliability and fairness are the watchwords of the IBO’s international assessment strategy. Senior examiners convene after each session to oversee assessment in their subjects and to award grades. The emphasis is always on ensuring that students have ample opportunity to demonstrate what they know and are able to communicate.  The system is complex and involves a great deal of work by all parties, but it is one that results in fair treatment of students whose futures, after all, depend on the assessment of their academic work.
Several of the McGlashan staff have been involved as examiners in their respective subjects and their experience is invaluable in passing on their perspectives to students. IB Students normally take all examinations in a single session at the end of the two-year period of study, but some choose to take one or two examinations at the end of their first year.  At McGlashan this is usually only offered in 1 or 2 subjects and may vary from year to year. These subjects are called anticipated subjects and may only be taken at Standard Level and only if the recommended number of teaching hours have been completed. The advantage of anticipated subjects is that students will have a lighter load in their second year and can more easily concentrate on their Higher Level subjects.  All students are encouraged to follow the full Diploma Programme. For students that do not complete the requirements of the full Diploma (occasionally a student will elect to only sit 1 or 2 IB subjects), individual subject certificates are awarded to indicate performance in each examination.

 

 

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