IB Internal vs. External Assessment 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which IB subject typically requires a laboratory report as part of its internal assessment?
- History
- Biology (Correct answer)
- Economics
- Literature
Correct answer: Biology
Biology IA requires students to design and report on a scientific investigation, making the lab report a standard IA format.
Question 2: In IB, who is primarily responsible for moderating internal assessment marks to ensure global consistency?
- The school principal
- External IB examiners (Correct answer)
- Other students in the class
- The IB coordinator
Correct answer: External IB examiners
External IB examiners sample and moderate teacher-awarded IA marks to ensure they align with IB standards worldwide.
Question 3: What happens if a teacher's internal assessment marks are found to be significantly inflated during moderation?
- All student marks are raised further
- Marks remain unchanged
- A scaling adjustment is applied to all students in that cohort (Correct answer)
- Only the highest marks are penalized
Correct answer: A scaling adjustment is applied to all students in that cohort
If moderation reveals systemic inflation, IB applies a scaling adjustment to all students in that cohort proportionally.
Question 4: Which component of IB English Language & Literature is externally assessed?
- Individual oral commentary
- Written task
- Paper 1 textual analysis (Correct answer)
- Further oral activity
Correct answer: Paper 1 textual analysis
Paper 1, the unseen textual analysis exam, is externally assessed by IB examiners.
Question 5: The IB extended essay is assessed by:
- The student's own teacher only
- External IB examiners (Correct answer)
- A panel of peers
- The school's academic board
Correct answer: External IB examiners
The Extended Essay is externally assessed by trained IB examiners who do not know the student.
Question 6: In IB Mathematics, what is the main purpose of the Internal Assessment exploration?
- To replace the final exam entirely
- To demonstrate understanding of a self-chosen mathematical topic (Correct answer)
- To practice past paper questions
- To assess group collaboration skills
Correct answer: To demonstrate understanding of a self-chosen mathematical topic
The Math IA exploration allows students to investigate a mathematical topic of personal interest, showing depth of understanding.
Question 7: Which statement best describes the difference between formative and summative assessment in the IB?
- Formative counts toward the final grade; summative is for practice
- Summative is for feedback only; formative determines the diploma
- Formative provides feedback during learning; summative determines final grades (Correct answer)
- Both are weighted equally in diploma scoring
Correct answer: Formative provides feedback during learning; summative determines final grades
Formative assessments guide learning with feedback, while summative assessments like IB exams determine final diploma grades.
IB Internal vs. External Assessment 2
Which IB subject typically requires a laboratory report as part of its internal assessment?