What Will Happen to IB Exams During Coronavirus?
Updated April 3, 2020 As of April 3, 2020, DP and CP examinations scheduled between April 30 and May 22 will no longer be held. Instead of using these exams to evaluate students’ work, they will be awarded a diploma or course certificate that “reflects their standard of work,” in terms of their coursework and the already established benchmarks assessing their expertise and the rigor of the curriculum. The organization will use historical assessment data, analyzing individual school and subject data, along with comparative data from schools that have submitted coursework, to calculate results. Schools that have not already done so must submit candidates’ coursework for assessment. The assessment criteria will not change, but in the case of an activity that can’t be assessed through these means, schools may use their discretion to provide alternative methods of offering the activity. Schools that have already uploaded some materials may need to provide additional ones. If the school needs an extension on uploading these materials, they should contact IB Answers at support@ibo.org to request one. The “Request for Results Service” deadline for countries aside from the US and Canada has been extended to June 15, and requests may be accepted until July 4, 2020. As of now, the November exam session has not been impacted. May session students who wish to sit for November exams may do so if the subjects are available. Original post from March 20, 2020: If you are an IB student and your school has closed or shifted to virtual learning due to the Coronavirus outbreak, you are probably going through a very uncertain phase. Much of the IB curriculum involves in-person learning and assessments, and you may also be scheduled to take the IB exams this May! All in all, you’re going through quite a bit. If you’re wondering how the Coronavirus will impact your IB program and your ability to get credit for these courses, you’re certainly not alone. We at CollegeVine have been closely monitoring the International Baccalaureate’s response to the outbreak and are here to quickly outline what you need to know about the IB program during this tumultuous time. Each school is handling its response to the Coronavirus a little bit differently. Some schools are completely shutting down for a few weeks, while others have shifted to a remote learning model where students learn virtually from home. Regardless, this is likely to put some strain on the IB curriculum. As a whole, the IB program has been very receptive to students learning and giving their assessments/presentations remotely. In fact, in their official statement on the Coronavirus, they have outlined some guidelines that teachers should be expected to follow while administering certain assessments. For example, Language Oral Assessments can now take place via video conference so long as certain criteria are met in the virtual environment. Furthermore, the IB program has extended the deadline for several key assessments and components of the IB curriculum to accommodate those affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. According to the official statement, as of March 18, 2020, the extended deadlines are as follows: NOTE: These dates are no longer accurate, as per the update at the top of this post. Hopefully these extensions will help teachers and students meet the requirements of the IB program during this uncertain time. Now, if your school has shut down altogether, it is unlikely that you will be able to meet even these extended deadlines. At that point, The IB recommends that you contact your IB coordinator or head of school. The IB is in close contact with schools affected by this outbreak, so these officials will be able to give you more information about what you can do to fulfill all the necessary requirements while practicing social distancing. While the IB program is able to accommodate extended coursework deadlines and virtual learning circumstances relatively easily, it is far more difficult for it to change its plan for the IB exams. Simply put, the IB exams that happen in May take a long time to put together, and these exams happen globally. For this reason, as of March 18, 2020, The IB has not postponed or canceled IB exams for this session. Now, that does not mean that you, as a student, are still going to be taking the exam as before. Your school and the IB are likely taking all precautions necessary to ensure that the IB examinations happen in a safe and healthy environment. If you are worried about taking the IB exams during the Coronavirus, contact your local administrator to learn what measures are being put in place to ensure students’ health and safety during the exam. Some options that schools may be considering, especially if they are on lockdown, is opting into a future testing session, having their students transfer to an alternative IB school for the examinations, or setting up an alternative venue where students can take the test and still practice social distancing. All of these are likely to affect you as a student, so please keep in touch with your school to see what measures are being taken for your test day specifically. At this point, IB students are going to be adapting to these new circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Your teachers and IB administrators are hopefully already keeping in contact with you to determine how you’re going to finish out the semester and take your exams. If not, contact your local IB coordinator or your school administration as soon as possible so that you can assess the situation. As a whole, every IB student should be taking stock of what further requirements they need to complete to successfully pass their current courses or graduate with an IB diploma. Once you know exactly which assessments and assignments are affected, you’ll be more prepared to adapt to a new learning environment, or have plenty of time to figure out an alternative plan for completion. If you’re a senior IB student and you’re worried about graduating in time for college, remember that IB exams and other assessments are not canceled. You may have to take various measures to complete the program, but you will more than likely be able to finish the program and graduate on time. Plus, you will still be able to receive college decisions and commit to a school before you’ve finished the IB program, so this is not something you have to worry about just yet. Finally, all students should just take a moment during this time to check in with themselves and make sure that they are doing okay. We at CollegeVine understand that this is a very uncertain time that is likely to put some stress and hardship on students. While practicing social distancing and other recommended health measures, please do everything you can to maintain your mental and physical health while you adapt to this new environment. Remember, this is an adjustment for everyone, and everyone will get through it together. If you’re a junior IB student, and you’re wondering how your current transcript impacts your college chances, you can find out using our free College Admissions Calculator. Our Chancing Engine will not only help you predict your odds, but also let you know how you stack up against other applicants, and which aspects of your profile to improve. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to gain access to our Chancing Engine and get a jumpstart on your college strategy. It’s a great way to take a step back during this tough time and look at the bigger picture. These are difficult times for everyone. At CollegeVine, we’re here to support you. COVID-19 is a constantly-changing situation, and we want to ensure you have access to the most up-to-date info in one place. Visit our Coronavirus Info Center to check for any new developments in college admissions during these unusual circumstances.What’s Happening To IB Classes?
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