• How are students assessed?

    At the end of the two-year programme, students are assessed both internally and externally in ways that measure individual performance against stated objectives for each subject.

    Internal assessment

    In nearly all subjects at least some of the assessment is carried out internally by teachers, who mark individual pieces of work produced as part of a course of study. Examples include oral exercises in language subjects, projects, student portfolios, class presentations, practical laboratory work, mathematical investigations and artistic performances.

    External assessment

    • Some assessment tasks are conducted and overseen by teachers without the restrictions of examination conditions, but are then marked externally by examiners. Examples include world literature assignments for language A1, written assignments for language A2, essays for theory of knowledge and extended essays.

    • Because of the greater degree of objectivity and reliability provided by the standard examination environment, externally marked examinations form the greatest share of the assessment for each subject. The grading system is criterion based (results are determined by performance against set standards, not by each student’s position in the overall rank order); validity, reliability and fairness are the watchwords of the Diploma Programme’s assessment strategy.