IB DP Examinations: Challenges and New Perspectives for 2022

/ / Published in NEWS, news & event
The post pandemic years, this year especially, have raised great challenges to students. In Chinese education system, a great number of students are facing the postpone of Gaokao. While in international education, the three major courses, IB, AP and A-level have put forward corresponding changes to the examinations.

s many students and families will be aware, the IBO made the decision not to host IB Diploma examinations in May 2022 for IB schools across eastern China (approximately 75 schools). It is important that our school community understand that this was an IB decision and not a BIS decision.

Mr. Matthew Kirk, BIS IB Diploma Coordinator explains how our school responses to the latest change, and raises his advice to students, too.

Mr. Kirk, along with our IB Diploma subject teachers have worked closely with the IB in order to ensure that our DP students achieve the fairest grades possible as they achieve the IB Diploma via the ‘Non-Examination route’, a process which has been in place for a number of years, in order to allow the IB Diploma to be awarded to students or schools in extenuating circumstances.

The final IB Diploma grades that students will be awarded (results day 6th July 2022) will be composed of the following:

  • subject Internal Assessment scores (as determined by IB examiners)
  • school evidence based Predicted Grades
  • additional student assessment evidence submitted to the IB
  • externally assessed scores from the IB Diploma Core (Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge)

We are confident that, as the DP is a two-year course, students will be awarded a final DP score that is very much in line with their engagement and achievement throughout Grades 11 and 12, just as they would do if they took the May examinations.

We have decided to make the most of the opportunity that the non-examination route has given us. Grade 12 students have been provided with additional subject content and assessment opportunities across all of their subjects which, if they treat seriously, will allow them to consolidate or improve their GPA on their four-year High School Transcript. Many of our students need to meet certain GPA requirements for their next steps towards university admission and we hope that our BIS students will embrace this challenge.

“Embracing Challenge, Driving Change.” As our school motto states, we strongly encourage students to be positive and keep learning facing current situations. The process of learning itself is more important than any examinations. One of the advantages of IB curriculum is that IB lays great emphasis in both formative assessment and summative assessment. Students and teachers are always focus on both academic performance as well as scores.

Mr. Kirk, BIS IB Diploma Coordinator, had this advice to give to students entering High School (Grades 9-12) at BIS: “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of class Semester scores to students in Grades 9-12. Not only will these scores impact their High School GPA, they are also an essential component of IB Diploma predicted grades determined in Grade 12. Student performance in Grade 11 (year one of the IB Diploma) is particularly important. The IB Diploma is far more than an exam preparation course and the most successful IB Diploma students perform well across the full two years, demonstrating engagement and commitment as well as focusing on their Internal Assessments for each subject and the bonus points available from the DP Core”.

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