It is important to understand how you will be assessed, and when you will be assessed. An understanding of assessment - what and when - will help you organize your studies and help you in your ambition to succeed.
In the everyday language of education, we sometimes separate formative assessment from summative assessment:
- Formative assessment is the kind of ongoing assessment that you and your teacher can use to monitor your progress, identify possible areas of weakness, and then to develop strategies to help you improve.
- Summative assessment is a kind of assessment that evaluates your learning. Often, summative assessment takes place after a period of study and, frequently, at the end of a course.
In practice, the separation of formative and summative assessment is not always entirely straightforward. Whilst this may be the case, this page briefly explains your summative assessment, including your exams!. It is summative assessment that is used to gauge your understandings and skills, and it is summative assessment that, crucially, determines your final course grade. Summative assessment is done in two ways: There is external assessment, where your work is marked by an external examiner (normally a teacher in another IB school), and internal assessment, where your work is marked by your teacher, and is then be moderated by an external moderator (again, normally a teacher in another IB school) who reviews your teacher's marking, and may alter marks to ensure accuracy and quality.
What are the summative assessment tasks for your course, and when do they take place?
External assessment
Paper 1
At Standard Level (SL), Paper 1 is a task in guided textual analysis.
What is involved? You will have a choice of two non-literary extracts, each of a different kind. Each extract is accompanied by one guiding question. You choose one extract, and write critically and analytically about it.
When does it take place? It takes place at the end of your course. In northern hemisphere IB schools, this is in May at the end of the second year of study. In southern hemisphere IB schools, this is in November at the end of the second year of study.
How long do you have? Your exam lasts for 1 hour 15 minutes.
What is it worth? Your exam is marked out of 20 marks. It makes up 35% of your overall assessment for the course.
At Higher Level (HL), Paper 1 is a task in guided textual analysis.
What is involved? Your exam will consist of two non-literary extracts, each of a different kind. Each extract is accompanied by one guiding question. You write critically and analytically about both extracts.
When does it take place? It takes place at the end of your course. In northern hemisphere IB schools, this is in May at the end of the second year of study. In southern hemisphere IB schools, this is in November at the end of the second year of study.
How long do you have? Your exam lasts for 2 hours 15 minutes.
What is it worth? Your exam is marked out of 40 marks. It makes up 30% of your overall assessment for the course.
Paper 2
At Standard Level (SL), Paper 2 is a comparative essay.
What is involved? Your exam consists of four general questions. You choose to respond to one question, comparing and contrasting two literary works that you have studied during your course.
When does it take place? It takes place at the end of your course. In northern hemisphere IB schools, this is in May at the end of the second year of study. In southern hemisphere IB schools, this is in November at the end of the second year of study.
How long do you have? Your exam lasts for 1 hour 45 minutes.
What is it worth? Your exam is marked out of 30 marks. It makes up 35% of your overall assessment for the course.
At Higher Level (HL), Paper 2 is a comparative essay.
What is involved? Your exam consists of four general questions. You choose to respond to one question, comparing and contrasting two literary works that you have studied during your course.
When does it take place? It takes place at the end of your course. In northern hemisphere IB schools, this is in May at the end of the second year of study. In southern hemisphere IB schools, this is in November at the end of the second year of study.
How long do you have? Your exam lasts for 1 hour 45 minutes.
What is it worth? Your exam is marked out of 30 marks. It makes up 30% of your overall assessment for the course.
Higher Level Essay
As the name suggests, this assessment task is only completed by Higher Level (HL) students. And, as the name suggests, the examined task is an academic essay.
What is involved? You write an academic essay, either on one non-literary text or a number of non-literary texts by the same writer, or a literary text studied during your course. You select your focus autonomously, but with guidance and advice provided by your teacher. Your essay must be 1200-1500 words in length.
When does it take place? The task will probably be introduced by your teacher after you have studied a number of non-literary and literary texts. Your teacher determines this.
How long do you have? Your teacher will give you a time frame that will extend from establishing your initial ideas to your finished, polished product. Some work may be done at home and some may be done in class. This is determined by your teacher. Understand that the task is a process where your writing develops over time. The more you work at the task, and the more editing you do, the better the result is likely to be. This is important to remember!
What is it worth? Your essay is marked out of 20 marks. It makes up 20% of your overall assessment for the course.
Internal assessment
Individual Oral
At Standard Level (SL), the individual oral is, as the name suggests, an oral exam that is internally assessed by your teacher, and externally moderated by an IB examiner (normally a teacher in another IB school).
What is involved? You select two texts or text extracts studied during your course. One of the texts or extracts must be non-literary. The other must be literary. You select a global issue, and you discuss how this global issue is represented in the content and form of your chosen texts.
When does it take place? Your teacher will tell you this, and your teacher will give you considerable advance notice of exactly where and when your individual oral will take place. Your oral is unlikely to take place earlier than the end of your first year of study. It may take place in your second year of study. Your teacher determines this.
How long do you have? You will be given time to prepare and practice for your individual oral. Your approach and choice of texts is your own, but you will be guided by your teacher. The actual exam involves a 10 minute prepared response (although this is not a written transcript of what you will say), followed by 5 minutes of questioning from your teacher. Your initial presentation of ideas is guided by the following prompt: Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of two of the works that you have studied.
What is it worth? Your individual oral is marked out of 20 marks. It makes up 30% of your overall assessment for the course.
At Higher Level (HL), the individual oral is, as the name suggests, an oral exam that is internally assessed by your teacher, and externally moderated by an IB examiner (normally a teacher in another IB school).
What is involved? You select two texts or text extracts studied during your course. One of the texts or extracts must be non-literary. The other must be literary. You select a global issue, and you discuss how this global issue is represented in the content and form of your chosen texts.
When does it take place? Your teacher will tell you this, and your teacher will give you considerable advance notice of exactly where and when your individual oral will take place. Your oral is unlikely to take place earlier than the end of your first year of study. It may take place in your second year of study. Your teacher determines this.
How long do you have? You will be given time to prepare and practice for your individual oral. Your approach and choice of texts is your own, but you will be guided by your teacher. The actual exam involves a 10 minute prepared response (although this is not a written transcript of what you will say), followed by 5 minutes of questioning from your teacher. Your initial presentation of ideas is guided by the following prompt: Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of two of the works that you have studied.
What is it worth? Your individual oral is marked out of 20 marks. It makes up 20% of your overall assessment for the course.
How much of Assessment - The Basics have you understood?
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