IB Assessment Policy

HUSEYIN AVNI SOZEN ANATOLIAN HIGH SCHOOL

IB ASSESSMENT POLICY 

The IB bachelorette program's goal is to educate and form young individuals that have the capability to inquire, question and care in order to create a better and peaceful environment through respect, understanding and knowledge.

The program intends to help students understand the world around them on a broader scale and empower students to become more active, curious and lifelong learners who values, respects different opinions and uses them to reach more wholesome conclusions.

Program Goals 

The goals can be listed as:

• Create mindful and self-assured students
• Get individuals ready to be prepared for the higher instruction framework and life
• Prepare students physically, morally, socially and culturally in order to make them democratic and respectful individuals
• Create capable and self-confident individuals
• Enable imagination and critical thinking
• Instruct students foreign languages to be able to keep up with the changes and advances in the world
• Empower students to create information and form projects with the help of their newly learned skills and capabilities
• Employ latest technological advances in order to provide high quality education
• Keep up with and employ the latest international educational standards
• Educate and prepare individuals for the work force that is required according to current and future international standards 

Learner Profile 

IB learners should embody certain aspects in order to fully benefit from the studies and reach the intended goals of the program. These attributes enables the students to become helpful, efficient and responsible members of their own communities as well as in international scale.

Inquirer

Curiosity and inquiry are very important aspects to reach meaningful results. Passion for learning and ability to learn individually and as a group should be sustained constantly.

Knowledge

Knowledge is an important trait that should be used across disciplines and variety of subjects in order to solve issues and matters that have global importance

Critical Thinking

Approaching problems and analysis with critical thinking is crucial in order to solve complex issues.

Communication

Being able to think, act and communicate in multiple languages. Listening to each other and respecting others opinions broaden ones perspective significantly.

Ethical

Respect for others, environment and world is a must for creating responsible individuals. Integrity and respect for rules and justice should never be compromised

Productive and Efficient

Working hard and working smart are important traits in individuals that create outstanding results

Reflection

Understanding one's self, strengths, weaknesses and acting accordingly enables self-improvement 

Principles

Assessment should be the process of collecting output of student's work from a variety of different results in order to measure the work rate, effectiveness of the provided education and provide feedback to improve further outcome. Evaluation in order to judge the quality of student's output against a certain set of goals and indicators and is an important part of the process to represent and provide feedback about the level of achievement.

• Assessment should generate meaningful and actionable outcomes for the student and the teacher. Feedback should be provided accordingly and should monitor the achievement levels on an ongoing basis.
• Assessment program acknowledges that the students have different capabilities, traits and learning styles. Therefore, the instructions should be tailor made and assessments should make sure that students are judged on hard work, learning and achievement. Students should be provided with meaningful feedback in order to understand their current level, achievement and areas of improvement. Feedback should be constructive and empowering rather than creating a race like environment.
• Assessment should use clear criteria and make it visible and transparent for students, teachers and management. Criteria should be in accordance with the objectives defined by the international bachelors program and the Turkish Ministry of Education. In parallel it should also take different learning methods into consideration.
• Assessment levels need to progress with the level of the student should neither lag back nor rush ahead. Assessment should be positive and motivating as well as providing meaningful and actionable outcome. It should make sure that students are able to take positive action on the indicated improvement areas. It should as well measure the progress towards if the learning goals are met overall.
• Assessment process should employ various tasks and methods to be constantly reliable
• It should make sure that higher learning skills such as critical thinking, reflection, communication and inquiry are empowered and respected.
• Assessment makes sure that students are responsible of the outcomes, their attendance and preparation. Students should be instructed well to understand that they are responsible for working towards a certain goal within the allocated time in a moral way. Students are also responsible to create meaningful actionable goals from the feedback that they are provided. They should be constantly looking for ways to improve and always be prepared for various ways of assessment. Lifelong personal improvement mindset and working as a team are crucial aspects

Assessment Practices 

IB teachers plan their curricula according to the IB Diploma Program outcomes, assessment criteria and finals. They arrange the courses in a way that the students current understanding and knowledge are tested before moving on to new learning and topics. Teachers plan in harmony so that they can agree on a schedule and timeline in advance in order to help students arrange their workload and plan in advance. 

Assessment in the IB program is well established in advance which would make sure that the students are measured against well determined criteria. Meaningful and actionable feedback is an important part of the assessment process. Several opportunities are provided to students for learning from their achievements and mistakes. Teachers also demonstrates and illustrates clear paths for improvement opportunities based on the assessment results. Standardization of the assessment grading is very important for teachers in order to create meaningful interpretations from the results. Teachers also get together and review assessment practices on  a regular basis to make sure that deviations are corrected 

Assessment Criteria

Students have to choose one subject from five different groups; Language A1, Second Language, Social Sciences, Experimental Sciences, and Mathematics. As a sixth subject, student may choose a second subject from the former groups or an additional subject from arts subject. Students are also required to choose other compulsory and elective subject to fill their schedule according to the Turkish curriculum defined by the Ministry of Education. These additional courses are assessed according to the Turkish education system and can be taught in Turkish or English. 

Each of the subjects taken are graded according to the IB grading standards from 1 to 7 scale.

7 = excellent, 6 = very good, 5 = good, 4 = satisfactory, 3 = mediocre, 2 = poor, 1 =

Very poor

The total combined score determines the diploma eligibility. Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay are graded on A-E basis. Students may be awarded up to 3 additional points according to their performance on these subjects as below

 

Students have to attend a minimum of 150 hours of teaching time for a standard level (SL) and a minimum 240 hours for high level (240) IB subject. Students are measured against a pre-determined subject based criteria rather than against the performance of their peers. 

Extended essay assesses the understanding and knowledge of the student on the subjects. They are assigned to do a deep research and analysis on their subjects. Theory of knowledge is related to the construct of knowledge itself and Meta studying the learning process. Students will be able to understand the knowledge process. In addition to these two, there is an additional topic called Creativity-Action-Service. This leads students to creative thinking, healthy lifestyle through action and learning through service with community. 

Internal Assessment

Internal assessment is conducted by teachers and is a part of the regular classroom work. It is skill based rather than subject content. It is a part of the classroom teaching activity rather than a separate action to directly measure performance. This could be an oral work in a language class or a laboratory work in physics, chemistry etc. Teachers discuss the topic and provide advice on the subject rather than directly correcting mistakes. All mistakes should be found by the student and corrections should be made by the student as well. Final work is a product of the individual student. Group work is sometimes permitted but the actual report out and writing should be done by individuals alone.

Internal assessments are measured against a pre-determined and clear criteria. Students should be made aware of these criteria well in advance. The assessments are checked by external examiners and contribute around 1/3 one third of the total mark.

External IBO assessors use a well-established analytical marking methods to assess the outcome in order to make sure standardization is followed.

Teachers provide grades for internal assessment on the work done by students and they predict the grade they believe each student will obtain in the following exam for a subject. Teachers are also required to comment on each work, detailing how and why that specific work received certain marks

The marks and internal assessment must make sure that the related subject and level is marked and assessed rather than the actual level of the class and the student. Teachers must use IB assessment criteria for the related subject and level. Marks should not contain decimals or estimates.

Even if the work is completely inadequate or not submitted, mark should be provided. If the student does not submit the work, an "F" is entered in the system which means no grade for the subject and the level.

External Assessment

External Assessment and examinations are developed and performed by a team of experienced examiners and IBO staff. These examinations include

• Essays
• Case study understanding and questions
• Multiple choice examination
• Structured problem solving
• Short-response questions
• Text-response questions
• Data-response questions

Examinations are performed during the course of three weeks for each assessment session towards the end of the semester. Maximum examination session per day is 6 hours at most. Examinations usually start on the afternoon and finished in the morning of the following day. A certain portion of the theory of knowledge essays, extended essays and world literature assessments may be assessed externally as well. These are typically long term assignments rather than essays written under exam conditions. Teachers are free to provide advice and students are free to consult teachers for feedback on these works. 

Internal and external assessment methods include but not limited to below methods. These methods may differ based on the subject

• Essay
• Project
• Extended response questions
• Short response questions
• Oral examination and comments
• Presentation
• Research assignment and laboratory work where applicable
• Multiple choice questions

All these tasks should be fundamental to assess the student on the skills of critical thinking, reflection, evaluation as well as certain basic skills such as knowledge, understanding and application.

All selected subjects (up to 6) are accredited by the Ministry of Education. Teachers apply internal assessment program components in order to create a national curriculum marks for performance studies, participation, projects and practical work on a regular scale of 100. Extended essay also counts as the project work according to the curriculum. There are no grading requirements for Theory of Knowledge and CAS for the curriculum. Teachers adapt and use any kind of written assignment, essay, research, work, presentation etc. in order to create marks for the national curriculum. In addition to these, teachers are expected by the national curriculum to perform a certain number of exams apart from the IB requirements.

For the assessment purposes, students are expected to be punctual to class and prepared with all the required assessment activities. They should respect their fellow students' right to learn. They should also submit their assigned work, projects, class work etc. on time and properly.

For the same purposes, teachers are expected to clearly show and identify the requirements of a certain assignment in advance and on time. They should also clarify the certain and special assessment method for that work if there are any. They should provide enough time for the completion of the work. They should inform supporting members and parents accordingly so that they can provide the necessary support. The assessment itself should be provided on time and return it with valuable feedback in order to allow the students to improve. Teachers should also guide students to the right resources and show them how to use those resources.

The assessment records should be kept by the teachers in several assessment tasks. Toward the end of every month and term, teachers record summative accomplishment levels as a general grade. Reports are entered and stored in the school's information management system. The IB coordinator keeps the internal report updated on a monthly basis. This report includes levels awarded to each student at the end of the term and also achieved levels at the year-end exams.

Further Understanding

Lesson Time	40 minutes	60 minutes
Compulsory Subjects for Grade 10 and Grade 11	Turkish Language Literature, Religious Studies, Two Foreign Languages, Philosophy, PE, Visual Arts, History	In IBDP Students are supposed to choose one subjects from each of five groups ( 1 to 5), assuring breadth of knowledge and best language, additional language(s), the experimental sciences, the social sciences and mathematics. As a 6 th group,  either an art subject  from group 6 or a second subject from groups 1 to 5 can be chosen.
Compulsory Subjects for Grade 9	Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology,
Elective Subjects	Turkish Language extension, Mathematics, Geometry, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Social Sciences; History, Geography, Sociology, Music, Visual Arts, Drama, Film, Theatre, Environmental Systems, Psychology, Foreign Languages extensions, Logics, Business& Management, Economics, IT in Global Society, TOK, Cultural Vision, International Relations, Global Policy ICT, Astronomy and Space and Sciences, PE and Social Activity and other electives.	Students are supposed to take three subjects ( occasionally four) as High Level ( HL) and three subjects ( occasionally two) as standard Level ( SL) fort the full diploma.
SEN	Specific programmes and differentiated asessments can be prepared for SEN students.	HASAL SEN policy has been prepared based on the IBO SEN guidelines and practices. The student who has special needs must be reported by the candidate or his/ her parents to the IB Coordinator before the IBDP starts. Necessary arrangements need to be made by the IB Coordinator and a request need to authorized by the IBO.
Total numbers of weeky lessons	45 lessons ( each 40 minutes) per week plus 3-5 lessons extension possibility.	The  minimum requirement for the teaching time of A high level ( HL) is 240 hours and for a standard level ( SL) is 150 hours.
Means of instruction	All DP subjects except for Turkish Literature and 20 th Century in Turkey are taught in foreign languages.	All DP subjects and core elements of the DP are instructed in English except Group 1 subjects and 20 th Century in Turkey.
CAS	CAS activities for IBDP students in Turkish schools are encouraged. Social service is not formally assessed.	CAS is one of the 3 core elements that should be completed as a part of DP. Creativity  develops the students' artistic skills and creative thinking. Action helps students develop a healthy lifestyle by doing physical activity. Service with the community fosters students to acquire new learning and add this learning to  their preexisting knowledge. These three strands of CAS reinforce students' personal growth by developing their experiental learning to discover themselves.
Foreign Language Foundation Year	Foreign language learning is supported in Turkish IB schools. One extra year as a prep class is arranged for foreign language study before Grade 9.	Students enroll IBDP classes in Grade 10 and Grade 11 in high schools.
Foreign Language Acquisiton Subject	Students must choose two foreign languages during the high school education. The assessment is based on four skills ( reading-writing-listening-speaking).	At least one foreign language subject must be chosen for the DP. IB Group 2 subject requirement and assessment criteria align with the national requirements.
Terms	The school year has two terms and the students are assessed accordingly. The avarage of these two terms is added and then divided into 2 to establish the final score of the subject.	The DP is a two year programme and is generally offered to the students in year 10 and 11.
Attandance	Students attandance at the lessons is compulsory and a record of students' attendance is kept and reported too the management by the teachers.If students participate national and international activities or competitions, absentee of students is not counted. Parents are expected to send their child' absentees excuses to the school administraion in five days. If the total number of absence without accepted excuse is a 30 days, the student fails even if the candidate has good marks.	Students attendance at the lessons is compulsory so that they have a right to have a Turkish and IB diploma.
Assessment system	Assessment criterion related.	Assessment criteria is related to the the requirements of of each subject curriculum, rather the students performance.
What to measure	Assessment procedures measure students' critical, creative thinking skills and problem solving skills.	IB Diploma Programme instruments measute the students' academic skills in terms of analysing and thinking critically, research and evaluating skills, comprehending the key concepts and their method applications.
Grading	The scale of grades : Excellent ( 85-100) , Good ( 70-85.99), Avarage ( 60-69.99), Pass ( 50-59.99) When a grade is under 50, a student fails.	The scale of marks for each subject range from 1 ( lowest) to 7 ( highest). Students can also deserve three additional points if they have adequate marks from theory of knowledge and extended essay.
Examiners	All written examinations are prepared and marked by the school teachers. Students need take take 2 examinations for each subject in each term.	All external exam papers are marked by the qualified examiners from all over the World. The school teachers only give predicted grades. However, they mark the internal exam materials.
Examination session	The duration of written exams should be maximum 40 minutes and the number of the exams for each day cannot be more than 3.	Duration of internal and external assessment varies depending on the subject and core IBO requirements. The period of external examinations in each session are approximately conducted in three weeks in November. Maximum duration of examining for each day cannot be more than 6 hours.
Addditional Assessment	Students who have failed in their courses can take one extra exam for each subject at the end of each term. Students who have also good marks can take extra exam. The final score is calculated when the results of extra exam is calculated as arithmetic average.	Students who need to take higher scores have right to retake the external exams.
Non-participants in assessments	Students who haven't taken the written exams or submitted their performance assignments/ projects can be given a chance as long as they justify their excuses in 5 days. N/A is given to the students if no excuse is justified. No mark is given to those who cheat in the exams.	Students are expected to complete all assignments. If one or more than one components are incomplete, an application with appropriate evidence is submitted by the IB Coordinator to the IBO
Enquiry upon assessment results	If there is a demand for rechecking of all assessment components by the student, this is done together with the student. Parents also can object to assessment results. This should be done by sending a written objection letter to the school principal in 5 days after the assessment results are announced. A committee consisting of 2 teachers of the same subject teacher recheck and finalise the results in 5 days.	Based on the relevant IBO handbook, a student's assessment result may be rechecked and remarked or returned to the school in electronic format which is a part of the enquiry upon result service. After remarking  process, the student can have a higher or a lower grade. A review might be requested by the IB Coordinator by asking a consent either from the candidate or his/ her parent.
Performance studies, projects and other works	At least one performance study or a project must be done for the subject lesson in each term, which is marked by the subject teachers. A student can have a second performance mark providing that he/ she has participated in lessons actively.	The school teachers mark the students' internal assessment materials such as oral presentations in languages, exploration / investigation in maths, lab work in sciences.
Awarding	When candidates are awarded due to their national/ international success, ''100'' as a performance mark or a project mark is given by the subject teacher. Candidates who have achieved academic success in the school years, they are awarded a Turkish National High School Diploma.	Candidates are awarded IB diploma when they have  gained at least 24 points from the whole programme and completed CAS requirements. 45 points as the highest mark for the Diploma can be awarded to the candidate.
Passing a subject/ a class and passing conditionally                                                                   Malpractice	Candidates are expected to gain at least ''50'' in each subject as an average final score. Or, they need to gain at least ''50'' as an average score regardless of their first term scores.	Candidates are awarded an IB diploma and diploma result list showing their subject grades and core element requirements for diploma completion ( CAS, EE, TOK) and they can be awarded extra point from the combination of TOK and EE. If candidates fail to fulfil the requirements of DP, they are given a certificate which shows subject grades and the core.                                                 If a student is involved in a malpractice which has been proven by the IBO final award committee, No grade is awarded for the subject(s). A candidate cannot have IB diploma but a certificate can be awarded for the subjects in which no malpractice occurs. In this case, a candidate can register for future examination again. However, he might be allowed to register the exam session again by the final award committee.
	When candidates have not achieved in one or more than one subject successfully, they can pass their class providing their GPA is at least ''50''or above. They pass their class   conditionally if they fail in Turkish Language Subject. If candidates have not achieved in 3 subjects successfully, they pass their classes conditionally. These candidates need to retake the exams of those subjects and gain the required mark before they graduate.
	Students can pass the foundation year ( before grade 9) when they have successful scores in Foreign Language and Turkish Language. If they fail these subjects, they must take proficiency test; otherwise, they have to attend the foundation year again. Students who have cheated in the exams are given a penalty of reprimand. discipline committee might decide to suspend the student from school for a few days. when a student is involved in cheating act such as collusion, plagiarism or duplication, he/ she must redo his work.

 

References

General Regulations: Diploma Programme, April2014

Diploma Programme Assessment Principles and Practice, November 2010

Regulations on Secondary Education Institutions of Ministry of Education, September

2013

Handbook of procedures for the Diploma Programme 2017