What are Internal Assessments?

Internal Assessments refer to work done in class in response to an aspect of the specified IB curriculum. Students are graded by classroom teachers, but grades are reported to IB, and IB samples student work.

Why is the month of March so stressful for students taking IB classes?

The results of these assessments must be mailed to the IB organization in March. Since teachers want to give their students a strong background before they attempt the assignment, most Internal Assessments are usually assigned and conducted end/February and the month of March.

Does every student taking an IB class take an internal assessment in his/her class?

All students taking IB classes take internal assessments. There are one or more internal assessments in each IB class.

What month do internal assessments occur and do they occur more than once a year?

Assessments occur throughout the year (or years) of the class. Whenever they are completed, all grades on the assessments must be submitted in March.

What percentage of a student's grade is an internal assessment worth?

It varies in each class and is up to the teacher.

What about a student who is a sophomore taking an IB class such as Math Methods I. Will the internal assessment they take count for IB?

Assessments are only submitted once for an SL or HL class, even though the assessments may have occurred over 2 years. While the Internal Assessment is part of a sophomore's class grade, their Internal Assessment is not turned into IB until their junior year. Math Methods I and II counts as an SL class and Math Methods I, II and III count as an HL class.

What is an External Assessment?

There are two types of external assessments. One is the May IB exam. The other is an assignment done in class but NOT evaluated by the Skyline teacher. Instead, the student work is sent to IB examiners. Examples include the World Lit papers in English and the musical investigation in Music. Not all classes have an external class assessment.