Assessment in the Diploma Programme measures both what students know and how they apply it. Because IB assessment is criterion-referenced, results are reliable and valid worldwide, and around 80% of full Diploma candidates succeed each year. You can read Concordian’s full assessment policy for the DP programme here.
How Students Are Assessed
A variety of assessment methods evaluate content, skills and process, taking different learning styles into account. Assessment falls into two parts.
Internal Assessment
Throughout the two years before the external examinations, students are assessed by their subject teachers using a wide range of techniques. Some of this work is sent to the IBO for moderation and counts towards the final subject grade.
External Examinations
External examinations make up the majority of the assessment and take place in May of the second year of study. They are set and graded by IBO examiners worldwide.
The Grading Scale
Each subject is graded from 1 to 7
- 7 — Excellent
- 6 — Very good
- 5 — Good
- 4 — Satisfactory
- 3 — Mediocre
- 2 — Poor
- 1 — Very poor
Results and Awarding
Results
Results are published online in early July on the IBO website at results.ibo.org, where each candidate uses a PIN to access their results. Diplomas are sent to the IB Coordinator by the end of August and then forwarded to students.
Transcripts
The IBO offers a service that lets candidates send transcripts to the universities or colleges of their choice, free of charge for up to six universities. Requests must reach the IB Coordinator by the end of April before the May examinations.
