FAQs

Here are the questions and answers from the IB that Marta sent by email on 1. April (no April Fool's joke!)

1. How will the results be calculated?

We will be using vast historical assessment data to ensure that we follow a rigorous process of due diligence in what is a truly unprecedented situation. We will be undertaking significant data analysis from previous exam sessions, individual school data, subject data as well as comparative data of schools who have already completed uploading requirements and those who have not. We will require schools to submit the coursework for all candidates. We will externally mark work that is usually marked by teachers, instead of taking samples and applying moderation.

2. Will the IB be awarding a diplomas and certificates this year

Yes

3. How will a student be awarded an IB Diploma or Certificate?

Using the information above the IB will be able to provide official documentation of the students diploma or certification. We will require schools to submit the coursework for all candidates. We will externally mark work that is usually marked by teachers, instead of taking samples and applying moderation.

4. Will each of the subjects be awarded out of 7?

Yes

5. Will the DP Core be awarded out of 3?

Yes

6. Will DP students be given a total point score out of 45?

Yes

Please expect an email from Marta and Harvey after the 20th of April regarding the legalization of your diplomas and sending your results to universities directly by the IB.

Yes, there is:

Information for universities

Will students be awarded a Diploma, numerical grade for each subject, the core and overall?

We will be awarding Diplomas and Certificates for the May 2020 session. At a subject level, students will be awarded a grade on the normal IB 1-7 scale. Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the Extended Essay and the Career-Related Programme Reflective Project will be awarded a grade on the normal IB A-E scale. The DP core will be awarded on the normal IB 0-3 scale. A total points score will be awarded for the Diploma, out of 45 as normal.

On what basis will students be awarded their Diploma or Certificates?

We will award each student a grade for each of their registered subjects using a calculation that takes into account their coursework marks and their predicted grade, as submitted to the IB by their school. For most components we will externally mark work that is usually marked by teachers, instead of taking samples and applying moderation.

How will you ensure that the student’s work is of appropriate quality to receive the grade?

Coursework, for subjects where students would have been required to sit an exam, will now be externally marked by examiners. We will use our robust quality assurance methods to ensure coursework marks are reliable.

Will the proportion of students receiving each grade and overall score be similar to previous years?

We will aim to maintain the standard from previous years so that there is comparability with previous and future years.

Will the transcript that universities and colleges receive look the same as previous years?

Yes. We will send transcripts to universities in the same way as previous years.

When will the results be released to universities?

We intend to release results on 5 July 2020, as previously advertised. If this changes, we will inform universities and colleges.

Remote Learning - student feedback summary (40 responses)

What went well:

• The 8 week plan was much appreciated - clear overview allowing to plan ahead

• Kognity

• Flipped learning with the Hangout Meet sessions as Q&A opportunities

• Science teachers uploading videos with content / explanations, opportunity to post questions for answering in face to face session

• Teachers cooperating to sort out clashes in schedule

• Nice to have a chance to catch up with classmates

What needs improvement:

• Teachers not sticking to the schedule for synchronous sessions (mentioned several times)

• Hasty unplanned assignments with not enough time to build into the personal weekly schedule

• Traditional lessons not adapted to remote format / reading off slides (can be done in preparation for synchronous sessions)

• Clashes for double humanities not resolved

• Teachers using too many different platforms. Request to communicate just though Google Classroom (GC)

• In some subjects it’s hard to have interaction without a whiteboard (flipped learning might work)

For us to take on board:

• Planning ahead was much appreciated.

• Approaching teaching and learning in new ways worked well.

• Encouragement to continue thinking about assessment in new ways, and to support students in building their schedule at home around our weekly assignments.

• Moving towards flipped learning is the right direction

• Synchronous session schedule might need more work (if not done already)

• Can we all agree on using GC?

Staff feedback summary (15 responses)

What went well:

• Very few technical hitches

• Creating a personal notebook for each student to keep me updated on their work and questions into which they have to write at least once a week and assign a comment to me when they need help.

• Positive feedback from students on recorded videos and notes to accompany them, with sessions used for Q&A

• Planner is useful

• Student engagement in Meet sessions

• Giving students a range of times and flexibility

What needs improvement:

• The schedule and collaboration between colleagues over clashes

• Participation of students on campus

• Schedule does not work for teachers with more than one DP1 subject

• For Mathematics, frustrating to try and use the whiteboard

• Hard to encourage ‘quiet’ students to participate.

• Not all students are ‘present’ due to a variety of issues.

• Confusion over expectations for DP2

Suggestions:

• Revisit the idea of a six day cycle, with classes on Saturdays

• Is it possible to check log-on time on GC?

• More communication about time delay and contexts: give assignments with sufficient time to complete

• Optional staff meeting (drop-in)

• Student suggestion: just one ‘quality’ synchronous lesson per week

• More clarity about remote assessment, please