IB schools do exist in countries, and for some unclear reasons, they also have to follow the national report card system. When the Ministry of Education accepts the IB Diploma Programme as a replacement for or equivalent of a high school diploma, then there shouldn’t be any need for all the 653 monthly “exams” and issuing report cards according to them.
However, this is not the main issue here. Or at least, my main issue with this bizarre system. The main issue is that teachers, I’m sure following administrators’ decisions, mark students’ papers out of 7! Yes, as crazy as it sounds, this is not from a dystopian novel, it is happening all in reality.
Just imagine that the teacher gives students a “summative” assessment just 6 months into IB Year 1, which is basically just writing an essay, and then calls it Paper 1, even Paper 2, and marks it out of 7!
I am really trying hard to avoid using exclamation marks, but honestly, why?!
Again, I should reiterate that I am an IB educator, with some little experience, working with hundreds of teachers and students each year. And, this is not me generalizing something that happened once in a mountainous town in Bolivia. It is becoming a common practice in many countries and it is dangerous.
IBDP students are teenagers before being students, and teenagers don’t need more stress in their lives.
Dear admins, please try to be kind to students. Please try to make decisions that make sense.
And again, if you don’t know what to do, or how to implement IB programmes, please, seek help and guidance. There is no shame in learning.
IB Exams
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