Assessment Policy

This document should be read alongside the IBO’s official document “Diploma Programme Grade Descriptors”. This policy has been updated by the IB Coordinator and IB teaching staff in the spring of 2022.

Assessment for the IB Diploma Programme

As an IB World School Stenhus Gymnasium is aware of the importance of transparency and consistency here assessment is concerned. The school strives diligently to give accurate appraisals of students, for example, when predicted grades are given to students applying to universities.

Assessment is based on teachers’ professional understandings of the subjects’ assessment criteria and of the IB Grade Descriptors. When in doubt, teachers collaborate with colleagues to ensure that assessment is as accurate as possible. This collaboration both takes place at the regular subject group meetings, and in a colleague-to-colleague basis when the need for such collaboration occurs in everyday life in school. In the first IB subject group meetings of the school year, the assessment data from the previous May examination session is discussed and analyzed.

Formative Assessment

Definition of Formative assessment “represents the process of gathering, analyzing, interpreting and using evidence to improve student learning and to help students to achieve their potential” (Guidelines for developing a school assessment policy in the Diploma Programme, p. 1.). In the words of the IB document Diploma Programme: From Principles into Practice, assessment is therefore a “tool or process that teachers can use to improve student learning; it is about assessment for learning, rather than simply assessment of learning.”

Formative Assessment at Stenhus Gymnasium

In November/December, March, and in May/June each student is awarded an internal grade in all subjects. All internal grades are entered into “Lectio”, the school’s electronic platform. Teachers use the official IB Grade Descriptors to award these grades. Grades are awarded according to the IB scale ranging from 7 to 1, with 7 being the highest, and these grades should reflect how well the student’s work meets the academic requirements at the given time. Any grade under a grade 4 is a cause for concern as it may lead to the student not being able to pass the IB Diploma, i.e., by achieving minimum 12 points in Higher Level subjects and/or by achieving a total of 24 points.

All internal grades awarded of a grade 4 or less are accompanied by a formative grade comment. The formative grade comment will provide an indication of the student’s strengths and weaknesses. Teachers
are also obligated to provide a grade comment in a situation where a student has been awarded an internal grade which is two or more grades lower than the previous grade.

Parents/students are invited to Parent-Teacher-Student consultations in the period immediately after the first internal grade of the year has been awarded. These consultations are held either in person or virtually.

As an alternative to the official IB Descriptors and Assessment Criteria, some IB subject teachers have developed subject Skills Charts that they will use to explain and clarify the grade awarded.

Summative Assessment

“Formal summative assessment is defined as assessment directly contributing to the final diploma qualification” (Diploma Programme: From Principles into Practice, p. 79.). Stenhus Gymnasium understands the importance of IB teachers gaining an understanding of how formal summative assessment is conducted. The school regularly sends teachers to IB-accredited teacher training workshops nd encourages teachers to become IB examiners.

Internal assessment of some summative assessments (IAs) requires teachers to mark the work to accepted IB standards. The DP Coordinator is responsible for checking how the marking of internal assessments aligns with grades given by external moderators. Teachers receive component grades and moderator feedback for IAs and, where there is disparity, this is discussed in subject group meetings with the DP Coordinator. If necessary, the school also makes enquiries upon results (EURs) to help clarify any discrepancies that are outside of what the school considers acceptable or understandable marking tolerance.

The DP Coordinator is responsible for explaining to staff and students how formal, summative assessment is conducted by the IBO. At Stenhus Gymnasium, summative evaluation is used to ‘screen’ students in the application process, in that some applicants are set an English and/or Mathematics and/or Science test as part of the application process. In addition, placement tests in English and Mathematics are set in first weeks of school to ensure that students are placed in the correct level of these subjects.

Summative assessment – Internal Assessment and External Assessment

To successfully pass the IB Diploma Programme, IB students must complete both internal and external assessments in all subjects. The internal assessment (IA) is marked by the school’s teachers and then moderated by the IBO, whereas only external IB examiners mark material for external assessment. IAs consist of both research papers, practical work, engagement activities, and oral examinations.

Every year in May/June a coursework schedule is agreed for the coming school year to spread the burden of Internal Assessments and External Assessments across the two-year programme, though all internal assessments are completed by early April of DP2 to give students enough time to be able to prepare and revise for final examinations in May. Once teachers have agreed upon the assessment deadlines of all internal and external assessments for the coming school year, the deadlines are entered into “Lectio”, the school’s information and scheduling platform.

The vast majority of IB external assessment takes place in connection with the official IB written exams in May of the final year. To prepare the students as well as possible for the written exams, practice examination papers are regularly set by teachers as in class activities. Some subjects may also set end of year examinations in June of the DP1 year. In DP2 students sit mock examinations in the week after the winter holiday.

In April of DP2 teachers award the official Predicted Grades to students. The IB Grade Descriptors are used to award the Predicted Grades. Predicted Grades are uploaded into IBIS (IB Information System) by the deadline on the 20thApril.

Assessing homework

The purpose of assessing homework is threefold. Assessment of homework serves to monitor a student’s progress, to document the work and progress of the student, and to inform the student, teachers, and parents of the student’s progress. Homework is set by the subject teachers in alignment with the aims and objectives of each subject. A clear expectation of the outcome of the homework is provided by the teachers, along with instructions on how to meet the outcome. The homework is assessed according to set criteria, based on the IB subject’s assessment criteria. The assessment criteria should be always available to the students, and they are encouraged to ask questions on how best to fulfil them.

Homework can consist of a variety of tasks, for example reading, research, solving set problems, and handing in projects or assignments. The level of preparation when reading is monitored through the student’s participation in class, while handed in work is assessed by the subject teacher.

Feedback, for especially written work, is often given as a written comment by the teacher. As a principle, feedback on written assignments should be given maximum seven days after the assignment has been handed in for shorter assignments and maximum fourteen days after the assignment has been handed in for longer assignments, such as IA drafts.

Teacher development, Collaboration, and the Standardization of Assessment

Stenhus Gymnasium’s IB teachers are obliged to participate in teacher training workshops appropriate to their subjects as quickly as possible upon teaching an IB subject for the first time. In addition, the school follows the IB’s cycle of curriculum development and subject teachers participate in relevant workshops that concern updates to curricula and assessment to keep up to date with IB assessment regulations and practices.

Teachers are expected to inform their students of how they will be assessed throughout the two-year Diploma Programme at the very beginning of subject teaching. This includes showing examples of the subject’s final examination papers. It is the responsibility of the DP Coordinator to inform teachers of any notifications from the IB concerning changes to IB assessment as quickly as possible. Accordingly, Stenhus Gymnasium sends at least one representative to the annual IBAEM conference and a particular area of focus for Stenhus Gymnasium’s representatives during and after the conference is the aspect of assessment. DP Coordinators in Danish IB schools also regularly discuss IB assessment in their face to face and online meetings.

Teacher collaboration is highly important at Stenhus Gymnasium. Teachers work together to develop unit plans and there is a strong tradition of sharing ideas and lesson plans in the Danish school system. Close collaboration is particularly important when subject internal assessments are sent for moderation as IAs are moderated as school samples. Subject teachers are required to meet and cross-check their assessment of IAs with a fellow subject teacher. So, for example, the school’s two IB Psychology teachers, who teach DP1 and DP2 respectively, are required to meet and check that there is standardization between their marking of the school’s Psychology IAs before the IAs are sent to the IBO for moderation. This is done using the assessment criteria for the IA as a point of departure. This type of collaboration is mutually beneficial as it leads to a greater sense of security in terms of the internal marks awarded, it provides new perspectives upon student work, and it enables teachers to justify marks awarded to external moderators.

At a national level, Stenhus Gymnasium’s teachers also regularly participate in collaborative subject meetings with IB DP teachers from the other fifteen IB DP schools in Denmark, at which assessment practices are frequently discussed.

Links to Other School Policies

This policy was developed in conjunction with, and should be read in alignment with, the school’s Language Policy, Admissions Policy, Inclusion Policy, and the Academic Integrity Policy:

Link to Language Policy:

When assessing students, teachers are conscious that English is not all students’ first language. As a result, language mistakes are not penalized – other than when relevant to do so. Teachers are always conscious that they are teachers of language. Consequently, teachers ensure when teaching that students are provided with the language skills which will support them with assessment expectations.

Link to Admissions Policy:

Part of our admissions process is to assess student language capacities to ensure that students will be able to meet the assessment requirements of the DP. In addition, we also assess students’ language acquisition proficiency to ensure students are placed in the correct Group 1 and/or 2 subject: for example, English B as opposed to English A, Danish A as opposed to Danish B, etc.’

Link to Inclusion Policy:

Students with specific learning needs are granted the necessary inclusive access arrangements to ensure
that they can be assessed in the fairest and most equitable manner.

Link to the Academic Integrity Policy:

In line with the school’s academic integrity policy, all assessments must be completed in line with academic integrity expectations. Work presented by students must be the student’s own work. Teachers are best placed to recognize if the language used by students in their assessments is authentically the student’s own language.