Assessment policy - IBDP

Mission statement of the International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate® aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. (ibo.org)

Mission statement of Mora gymnasium

The upper secondary school administration in Mora municipality and its activities, Mora gymnasium, Mora vuxenutbildning, Mora Anpassad gymnasieskola, Mora Yrkeshögskola and Mora Högskolecentrum, shall be characterized by high quality with the student in center. The upper secondary school administration is a successful administration where our aim is that every student who starts an education should receive the help and knowledge that the student needs to develop towards their full potential in their studies, their future job and as a world citizen. Our aim is for students to learn for life and understand the value of living in a global society. Our vision is for each student to develop towards their full potential and our daily work is characterized by the four bywords: Safety, respect, dedication and quality. We work together in a positive spirit so that everyone will feel joy, respect, participation but also responsibility in the work.

In our day-to-day work, everyone's equal value and respect for each other should be one of our guiding principles, and the school should be a safe environment.

Leadership should be health-promoting, meaningful, communicative and clear (moragymnasium.se).

Definition of Assessment & the division of the pre-IB year (National system) compared to the IBDP.

Assessment is the process Mora gymnasium and the IBDP use when collecting information from different sources to measure students´ achievements based on the curriculum. Assessment has different purposes. Common types of assessments include tests, examinations, extended practical work, projects, portfolios and oral work. Sometimes, assessments are carried out over a prolonged period, and at other times they take place over a few hours. Assessments will sometimes be judged by the student’s teacher, while other times they are evaluated by an external examiner (IB, 2019a, p. 24) For an education system to be effective, students must develop and learn skills that are needed for life beyond the classroom. Those skills and the learning must be subject for assessment if they are to serve the needs for universities and employers (IB, 2019b).

When talking about assessment the method for assessment, formative and summative, will differ depending on the purpose. The intended purpose will have a major impact on the format of assessment. Formative assessment has a main purpose in providing detailed feedback to teachers and students on the nature of students’ strengths and weaknesses. The aim is to help develop students’ capabilities (IB, 2005). Vygotsky (1962) describes the teacher as being seen as a supporter rather than a director of learning and so should make use of assessment tasks and instruments that help the student work in what he refers to as the “zone of proximal development”. This is the range of achievement between what the student can do on their own, and what the student can do with the support of the teacher (IB, 2019a, p. 25). For the formative assessment to work there must be an intention of the teacher to set tasks that are on the right level of challenge for the student and to continuously keep adjusting that level as the student progresses. It is more important that formative assessment correctly identifies the knowledge, skills and understanding that students need to develop than the actual measurement of the student´s achievement (IB, 2019a).

Summative assessment, on the other hand, is used for different purposes than formative assessment. It can be used to get information about the student´s achievement, competitive selection for employment or educational opportunities, as an accountability mechanism to evaluate teachers and schools but also as tool when reforming the curriculum. The difference between summative and formative can be explained as follows summative assessment focuses on measuring what the candidate can do, typically to demonstrate the completion of a training programme and/or readiness to progress to the next stage of education. While formative assessment is interested in why a student does something, summative assessment wants to know whether they did the correct thing (IB, 2019a, p. 26).

The IB has summarized what is good assessment in three bullet points and also five bullet points that are the underlying principles in IB assessment:

• supporting curricular goals
• using a range of assessment tasks
• considering wider student competencies and higher-order thinking skills (IB, 2019a, p. 65)

The following five points summarize the underlying principles of IB assessment.

IB assessments must:

1. be valid for the purposes for which they are intended. This means they must be balanced between the conflicting demands of construct relevance, reliability, fairness (that is, no bias), comparability with alternatives and manageability for candidates, schools and the IB
2. have a positive backwash effect, that is, their design must encourage good quality teaching and learning
3. be appropriate to the widest possible range of candidates, allowing them to demonstrate their personal level of achievement
4. be part of the context of a wider IB programme, not considered in isolation. Does it support concurrency of learning and the overall learner experience?
5. support the IB’s wider mission and student competencies, especially inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators and internationally minded (IB, 2019a, p. 77).

The assessment in Swedish national courses that the students will take during the pre-IB year is criterion-based. These are given by the Swedish National Agency of Education (Skolverket). In the beginning of a course, the students are informed about the curriculum and the assessment standards relevant of that course. During the course, the student gets formative feedback which can be provided both orally and in writing, e.g. on the student platform, depending on subject, teacher and situation. The feedback gives the student information about the level of achievement compared to given criteria. In the end of a course, the final grade is set by the subject-teacher. Co-assessment is carried out when possible. The pre-IB year differs when it comes to assessment since the Swedish National system belongs to the number of national and state education systems that use only internal assessment with external regulation. The assessment at the end of secondary school constitutes the main course of entrance to universities. There are, however, elements of summative assessment during the pre-IB year when it comes to admittance as a student on the IBDP (see Admission policy), diagnoses (see Admission policy) and also the Swedish National tests in Mathematics, Swedish and English at the end of the pre-IB year.

The formal IBDP assessment is by its nature a summative assessment designed to record the student´s achievement. However, many of the different assessment instruments can be used formatively during the years of the IBDP, in both teaching and learning, especially on the internal assessment tasks (IB, 2005). For more information on teaching and learning in relation to assessment in the IBDP see Teaching and Learning informed by Assessment in the Diploma programme. Guide and teacher support material (IB, 2021a). All subject teachers also have access through MyIB (ibo.org) to teacher support material in his/her subject (see references, IB support material).

One of the aims of the IBDP and Mora gymnasium, as can be seen in the mission statements, is to make students more open-minded when it comes to other ways of doing things, more globally aware and, in relation these two issues, become more competent in operating in a non-familiar cultural environment. This becomes part of the requirement for high order thinking that the aim is for students to be able to apply in unfamiliar situations. The international setting of the IBDP makes different assessment formats necessary in order to try to achieve equity on a cultural basis. A wide range of formats within the IBDP system have the aim to give the students and their teachers a chance to meet formats they are comfortable and familiar with as well as formats that they are less familiar with (IB, 2019a).

Finally, it is important to point out that the IBDP assessment, as well as the Swedish National assessment, is highly individualistic. This is because the IBDP falls within the western European tradition and its societies can be described as basically individualistic. Students are assessed almost exclusively on what they achieve on their own. However, it is common practice, both in the classroom and in the world of work, for individuals to work interdependently rather than independently (IB, 2019a, p. 174).

Division of formative and summative assessment on the IBDP.

• Formative assessment: During courses and TOK, CAS and EE students will be assessed repeatedly.
• Summative assessment: The DP final exams (external) and internal assessment components are submitted and externally assessed and/or moderated by the IB.

The teachers at the IBDP at Mora gymnasium attend IB professional development workshops in their subject, either face-to-face or online, which provides training in the teaching and assessing of their subject are teaching. The teachers also use the MyIB (ibo.org). In some subjects, such as mathematics and language two or more teachers have received IB workshops. These teachers work together to implement, assess and instruct subject areas. IAs are collaboratively assessed by all subject teachers yearly when the subject has more teachers than one.

Teachers at Mora gymnasium plan for assessment;

• in their subject with the assessment criteria and final exams of the IBDP in mind.
• and try to use students´ prior knowledge and experiences when introducing new knowledge.
• in collaboration with all IBDP faculty to create and publish a timeline (IB calendar for Mora gymnasium) on Teams for all internal and external assessment to help the students plan/manage their workload. All external assessment is also in the internal calendar for Mora gymnasium called Veckonytt (Skolon in Teams).
• collaborate with IBDP faculty but also other subject teachers at Mora gymnasium when they review their assessment practices.

The teachers at Mora gymnasium assess and provide feedback;

• through the pre-determined descriptors in the subject guides according to the IBDP criteria. Every assessment task has defined expectations.
• through both formal and informal strategies in a wide variety of tasks to allow every student to demonstrate their skills and knowledge.
• through the usage of both familiar and unfamiliar situations to help student train their high order thinking.
• formatively to help student prepare for the IB summative assessment. The feedback should consist of current levels of achievement and also what needs to improve. Feedback is given both orally, in writing and through the student platform Managebac.
• through providing students with examples to illustrate achievements. As an example written assignments releasedby the IBO.
• through parent/student/teacher meetings (see Inclusion policy) twice a year. In which students´ achievements and progress are to be addressed.
• through mock-exams during IB2 in March. The mock exams are based on old examinations in each subject.
• through report cards with predicted grades on Managebac. Report cards come at the end of January (DP1), in June (DP1), in November (DP2) and in March (DP2). Predicted grades are given in all six subjects (1-7) as well as EE and TOK (E-A) (IB, 2025, C.3.2.3). Note that the grade the student earns in a course is not directly tied to the marks earned on formal IB assessments. It should be a reflection of the work that has been completed in preparation for the formal assessment of the IBDP.
• Marks for IAs and predicted grades must be entered on IBIS no later than April 20 at the latest (IB 2025, C3.2.2). For some external assessed components (e.g language A, TOK, the arts) the deadline on IBIS is March 15.

Students´responsibility at the IBDP of Mora gymnasium

• In case of student absence, arrangements to make up for missed assessment and test will be made on the return. An IB teacher can add the value of the missed assessment onto another assessment (as an example mock exams). The form and also the timing will be determined by the teacher. In extreme circumstances, an alternate assessment or exemptions may be granted in consultation with parents, teachers, and administration. Note that this applies to all forms of assessment except mock exams and final examinations in IB2. For the rules from IBO for which Mora gymnasium comply at absence at IB final examinations see IB, 2025 C.7.1.
• Late submissions. Will be noted on the bi-weekly conference with the IBDP staff (see Inclusion policy). Parent/student/teacher meeting in which a new deadline/deadlines is/are determined when the assignment can be submitted. If the second deadline is not met the student will get a zero on that assignment.

• Homework is seen as a significant tool for the student to develop his/her skills and knowledge. Mora gymnasium recommends that a student spends time at least 1 hour every night during weekdays on homework.

• Assessment for students with inclusive access arrangements needs will be addressed according to the Inclusion policy of the school (see Inclusion policy).

Different types of IBDP Assessment

In every subject guide, there are objectives that are to be assessed. They are defined for both students, teachers, parents/caretaker and examiner. The objectives can have a wide variety of skill types and in relation to that the assessment tasks can vary considerably within and across different subjects.

Examination papers stand for a majority of assessment components but may vary to suit the requirements of the subject. Question types can include multiple-choice questions (used in only a small number of papers), short-response questions, structured problem-solving questions, open-ended problem-solving questions, essay questions, data-analysis questions, case studies and commentaries on supplied texts. The examinations are taken under controlled conditions, with student responses being marked externally by independent examiners (IB, 2005, p. 24).

There are also tasks that extend over a longer period of time with the guidance of teachers that are externally marked by examiners. These include language A1 world literature assignments, language A2 written tasks, music investigations, theory of knowledge essays and extended essays. The assessment focus for all of these is on the quality of a finished written product, which makes them suitable for external assessment (IB, 2005, p. 24).

The last type of assessment is the internal assessment (IA) where the student´s work is marked by their teacher along with external moderation (teachers are to send in samples of their marking to the IB). The IAs often relate to process skills which can be demonstrated in activities such as project work, fieldwork, laboratory practical work and mathematical investigations, art practice. IAs are also used for oral work in language courses. Internal assessment should focus on skills rather than subject content. (IB, 2005) …internal assessment is conducted by applying a fixed set of assessment criteria for each course. These criteria describe the kinds and levels of skills that must be addressed in the internal assessment. Teachers should ensure that students are familiar with the internal assessment criteria and that the pieces of work chosen for use in internal assessment address these criteria effectively (IB, 2005, p. 31).

Examinations on the IBDP

The definition of an examination is a collection of one or more tasks of various types (short-answer, extended-answer, problem-solving or analytical questions; sometimes practical or oral tasks) that students must respond to under controlled, isolated conditions in a set time. Generally marked/graded by examiner (IB, 2005, p, 3).

Examinations in the IB is carried out in an international context. Therefore, the method that is used when creating the exams is to create more open-ended questions and tasks to allow students to select in which context they want to respond. The marking will then focus on a deeper understanding of the subject content since the common basis of content can vary greatly (IB, 2019a).

The compensation model is used when marking most of the external exams and it allows an excellent performance in one area to mitigate for a poor performance in another. As an example, imagine an exam consisting of three questions marked out of 10. The pass mark of 15 could be achieved by a candidate scoring of 5, 5 and 5 (achieving around half of each question) or by a candidate scoring 10, 3 and 2. In the second case a perfect score in the first question compensates for poor scores in the other questions (IB, 2019a, p.25).

Examinations take place in IB2 in May during a period of approximately three weeks. The normal examination pattern is that the schedule for a particular course has two or three papers consecutively starting one afternoon and finishing the next morning. Examinations are scheduled to avoid more than six hours of examining in a single day under normal circumstances (IB, 2005). Students in need of inclusive access arrangements (circumstances that occur more than 3 months before the written examination) as well as adverse circumstances (circumstances that occur within 3 months of the written examination) may have different access arrangements as additional time, word processor, reader, separate room, supervised breaks and so on. All access arrangements requests must be submitted to the IBO for authorization with supporting documentation (IB, 2021b). For more information see Inclusion policy.

If a student is not satisfied with their final mark from the IBO, they can ask for a remark. The candidate or legal guardian can ask for a remarking, the request for a remark (EUR – enquiry upon results) MUST be made to the IBDP coordinator at Mora gymnasium and with a written consent stating which subjects that the candidate want a remarking in. The request for an enquiry upon results can be made no later than 15 September following the release of results. Requests for an enquiry upon results service will only be accepted from schools, not from individual candidates, their legal guardian(s) or other representatives (IB, 2025, C.8.3.9). Also see Admission policy.

Retakes for a student can take place in November and May (Note that Mora gymnasium only give the May exam see Admisson policy). Students can do retakes if they are previous IB Diploma Candidates who are seeking to improve on their results, the highest grade for the subject/core requirement will contribute to the award of the IB Diploma (IB, 2025, C.2.5). Retake students can carry over marks from a previous session (e.g IAs). If a student wants to resubmit his/her work, the student must attend classes for academic honesty reasons. It is also possible to change level and courses as well as EE subject in an examination being retaken after 6 months (IB, 2025, C.2.5.3-C.2.5.7). For more information regarding retakes see Retake policy and Registration policy).

The IBDP written curriculum (IB1 and IB2, see Admission policy)

The aim for the students at Mora gymnasium is to go for the full IB Diploma (for requirements see further down). If students are unable to study the programme in full, they can follow fewer courses, for which they will receive individual certificate results (IB, 2005, p. 21). Each student must select one subject each from each group from Language A to Mathematics. A sixth subject is chosen either from Arts or as a second subject in one of the first four groups. Three to four subjects are to be taken at higher level (HL) and two to three are taken at standard level (SL) (IB, 2005) depending on which courses and which levels are optional for the students. However, the IB coordinator and the guidance counsellor will be available the student in his/her choice (see Admission policy). The recommended teaching hours are 240 hours for an HL course and 150 hours for an SL course. At Mora gymnasium the SL courses are subsets of HL courses in the same subjects.

Courses at Mora gymnasium:
Group 1 Language A: Swedish, English,
Group 2 Language B: English, Swedish, German (only SL),
Language ab initio Swedish (SL)
Group 3 Individuals and societies: History, Environmental systems and societies (NOTE only SL group 3 and 4)
Group 4 Experimental Sciences: Chemistry, Physics, Sports (only SL), Environmental systems and societies (NOTE only SL group 3 and 4)
Group 5 Mathematics: Mathematics: applications and interpretation
Group 6 Electives: Visual arts, Dance

For requirements for applying to the Swedish higher education system (universities) see
https://www.antagning.se/sv/betyg-och-behorighet/international-baccalaureate/ib-examen-2021-och-framat/sarskild-behorighet/ Länk till annan webbplats.

The DP’s curricular structure defines the framework in which assessment must operate. Individual assessment models are constructed for each subject at both HL and SL, for theory of knowledge (TOK) and for the extended essay. Two examination sessions are held each year, in May and November, with results being released in early July and early January respectively. The published results are made up of subject grades, which equate to diploma points, in the range from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest) at HL and at SL, and grades from E (lowest) to A (highest) for TOK and the extended essay. A matrix table converts the combined letter grades for TOK and the extended essay into a points score from 0 to 3. CAS does not contribute to the points total, but authenticated participation in CAS is a requirement without which the diploma cannot be awarded (IB, 2005, p. 23; IB, 2023 C.3. 2).

Diploma and certificate results are published to schools and university admission system on July 5 each year for the May examination session (IB, 2025, C8.1). The results are sent electronically, as are many other administrative processes relating to the examination system, such as candidate registration and most mark entry. Candidates are issued with a numeric grade from 1 to 7 for each subject entered and candidates following the full Diploma Programme will also receive letter grades for TOK and the extended essay, together with a total diploma points score. A bilingual diploma can be awarded to a candidate who:

• Completion of two languages selected from studies in language and literature subjects with the award of a grade 3 or higher in both languages
• Completion of one of the subjects from individuals and societies, or sciences in a language that is not the same as the candidate’s nominated studies in language and literature language. The candidate must attain a grade 3 or higher in both the studies in language and literature language and the subject from individuals and societies, or sciences subject groups (IB, 2025, C8.2.2).

Note that the final IB scores, received on July 5 of the senior year, are based on the IB internal and external assessments.

A student is awarded with the Diploma (see IB, 2025, A2.2):

• DP category students must study six subjects, plus the three core subjects—EE, TOK and CAS. They must accumulate no fewer than 24 points from assessment in these subjects, in addition to grade stipulations.
• They must meet all of the additional requirements—see section “2.2 Länk till annan webbplats.”.
• Students who successfully meet these conditions will be awarded the diploma.
• Students who take the diploma in multiple languages may be eligible for a bilingual diploma.

The IB diploma is awarded based on performance across all parts of the DP.

• Each subject is graded 1–7, with 7 being the highest grade.
• These grades are also used as points (that is, 7 points for a grade 7, 6 points for a grade 6, and so on) in determining if the diploma can be awarded.
• TOK and the EE are graded A–E, with A being the highest grade. These two grades are then combined in the diploma points matrix to contribute between 0 and 3 points to the total.
• CAS is not assessed but must be completed in order to pass the diploma. See section “2.2 Länk till annan webbplats.”.
• The overall maximum points from subject grades, TOK and the EE is therefore 45: ((6 × 7) + 3).
• The minimum threshold for the award of the diploma is 24 points. If a student scores less than 24 points, the diploma is not awarded.

There are a number of additional requirements for the award of the diploma.

• CAS requirements have been met.
• There is no “N” awarded for TOK, the EE or for a contributing subject.
• There is no grade E awarded for TOK and/or the EE.
• There is no grade 1 awarded in a subject/level.
• There are no more than two grade 2s awarded (SL or HL).
• There are no more than three grade 3s or below awarded (SL or HL).
• The student has gained 12 points or more on HL subjects. (For students who register for four HL subjects, the three highest grades count.)
• The student has gained 9 points or more on SL subjects. (Students who register for two SL subjects must gain at least 5 points at SL.)
• The student has not received a penalty for academic misconduct(IB, 2025, A2.2.1-A.2.2.2).

A student is allowed to retake one or more subjects (IB 2025, C2.5.2) for more information see Retake and Registration policy.

It is up to the final award committee to award a student who has met these requirements with a diploma or a certificate (IB, 2025, B1 Article 13).

IBDP grades converted to the Swedish higher education system

Students who want to apply to the Swedish higher education system after graduating at the IBDP will have their IB score transformed according to the table below. The merit value is the value that the student competes with in the selection to get a place on the courses/programs registered for. Any credit points the student have are added (max. 2.5). Keep in mind that the grade value for courses that give merit points and lie outside the IB diploma affects the merit value. Courses from pre-IB and other courses from upper secondary school are included if they are required for eligibility or if the course gives merit points. https://www.antagning.se/sv/betyg-och-behorighet/international-baccalaureate/ib-examen-2021-och-framat/meritpoang/ Länk till annan webbplats.

IB-grades converted into the Swedish 10-20-skale

https://www.antagning.se/sv/betyg-och-behorighet/international-baccalaureate/ib-examen-2021-och-framat/rakna-ut-ditt-meritvarde/ Länk till annan webbplats.

Revision

The assessment policy is to be revised yearly in September-November and is communicated on moragymnasium.se. The IBDP coordinator is in charge of the revision and the policy is to be worked with in January and August by the IBDP teaching staff.

Date of the latest revision: November 12, 2025.

References
Antagning.se https://www.antagning.se/sv/betyg-och-behorighet/international-baccalaureate/ib-examen-2021-och-framat/meritpoang/ Länk till annan webbplats.

Antagning.se https://www.antagning.se/sv/betyg-och-behorighet/international-baccalaureate/ib-examen-2021-och-framat/rakna-ut-ditt-meritvarde/ Länk till annan webbplats.

Antagning.se https://www.antagning.se/sv/betyg-och-behorighet/international-baccalaureate/ib-examen-2021-och-framat/sarskild-behorighet/ Länk till annan webbplats.

IB, 2005. Diploma Programme assessment Principles and practice. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2019a (updated 2022). Assessment principles and practices—Quality assessments in a digital age. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2019b (updated 2023). Academic integrity policy. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2021a. Teaching and Learning informed by Assessment in the Diploma programme. Guide and teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2021b (updated 2024). Adverse circumstances policy. Geneve, Switzerland.

IB, 2025. Diploma programme Assessment procedures 2026. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

Ibo.org. https://ibo.org/about-the-ib/mission/ Länk till annan webbplats.

moragymnasium.se https://moragymnasium.se/om-skolan/ledningsdeklaration.html Länk till annan webbplats.

Teacher support material MyIB (ibo.org)

IB, 2014 (updated 2017). Visual arts teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2015 (updated 2017). History teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2017. Environmental systems and Societies teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2017. Creativity, activity and service teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2018. Extended essay teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2018 (updated 2022). Language B teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2018 (updated 2022). Language ab inito teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2019 (updated 2022). Language A teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2020. Theory of knowledge teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2023. Chemistry teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.

IB, 2023. Physics teacher support material. Cardiff, UK. International Baccalaureate.