How do IB predicted marks work?

[Prowess]

Hello!

I have just started IB and I was wondering what some people did to get 7's and what school mark would correspond to a seven.

How do teachers come up with a predicted mark? The first couple math tests have been hard and the class average has been really low.

Should I be discouraged that I'm not getting 95%'s? I'm looking for a seven PREDICTED in all classes if possible.

Thanks.

[C.James]

From what I think what % ~ 7 varies depending on the course. There are mark bands ( %x - %y gets a 7. )

[dessskris]

marks corresponding to a 7 would depend on the subject, you can check out the Grade Boundaries to find out how many percent you need to score to get IB7 or IB6 or such. we have it here -->

there's no set way of giving predictions, teachers have their own way of predicting so you should ask them. at my school they take into account all our progress from IB1 and predict based on our capabilities.

since you are from Canada, yeah 95% might be seen as good and lower than 80% is okay, but if your school follows the IB marking (which I think no Canadian school follows), getting an 80% is a lot of hard work and is usually already a 7.

I hope this does not confuse you because the Canadian marking system is different with the IB and it's a lot of stuff to know, but if I were you I would just ask my teacher or IB coordinator to find out.

[Award Winning Boss]

For my school, it's a mix of mocks and how you did during school

[miamonique]

The REAL predicted grades are given out a couple of months before your exams. IBO states that these grades must be based on "based on all the evidence of a candidate’s work and the teacher’s knowledge of IB standards". In other words, you will not get a predicted grade of seven if come exame time you still haven't received much more than fives on you mock and mini mock exams.

However, for students applying to for instance UK, America, etc, there are given "unofficial" predicted grades, as some schools request these long before any official grades are put. The grading then varies from school to school, but because they aren't official as the real predicted grades, it is easier to argue in favor of a higher grade. At my school they used a combination of the evidence of work and the academic potential of each student. For instance, I haven't gotten any sevens in chemistry, but because of the way my answers were structured on the mini mocks, I received a seven in unofficial predicted grade.

Hope that helps

"The predicted grade is the teacher’s prediction of the grade the candidate is expected to achieve in the subject, based on all the evidence of a candidate’s work and the teacher’s knowledge of IB standards. Predicted grades are also required for Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay. Predicted grades are used at the grade award meeting when considering grade distributions. They may also be used by the Final Award Committee as additional information about candidates who are subject to special consideration."

- http://ibo.org/diplo...redictGrade.htm

[hehe101]

First of all, to get a 7 predicted in every course will require to put in an astronomical amount of effort and work. Just saying.

I know in my school, the predicted grades are mainly based on your January exams and how well you do on them. MY IB Coordinator said that the Jan exams are the most important exams you'll ever write (yes even more important than the May ones). Reason being is because our predicted grades are what get us into University..while our final grades are merely scholarship grades. So make sure you check how important your Jan exams are going to be. I know for some of my courses, the Jan exams count for about 50% of predicted grades.

The rest of the predicted grades come from marked IA's (if your teacher decides to collect them early. My English teacher already marked our WL1 papers), tests, and any other assignments. Of course, every school, every subject and every teacher has a different method in determining your predicted grades.

Best piece of advice, work your butt off throughout the semester and do well on all your tests, major assignments and any mock exams. Ask each teacher how they're breaking up the predicted grades and how important certain exams or assignments are. Monitor your marks as you receive them and put more effort into the classes that you're not doing so well in and less effort into the ones you are doing well in. IMO, to get predicted a 7 is harder than to actually achieve a 7. That's cause some teachers are stubborn and refuse to give 7 predicted (like my math teacher ugh).

And don't be discouraged if you're not getting a 95%. Trust me..my raw score for SL Chemistry last year was around a 70%, got predicted a 6 and ended up with a 7. My HL Biology teacher gives us 7's on our tests if we score 85% or higher. Check the grade boundaries for IB. I know for HL Biology last year, you needed like a 78% on the exam to get a 7 (so my teacher tells me). Again, if you're really striving for those 7 predicted, the best way to achieve it is to ask your teacher how to achieve it. But don't be discouraged if you get a lower predicted. You can easily manage to do better on the exam

[Daniel Inchan Jung]

How you did in school. Seeing as you are also a Canadian student, I'd assume they predict your grades by your scaled mark and with a multitude of other factors. Keep in mind the marks you have right now won't be a firm guarantee that you'll get such and such on the IB exams.

[Peanut Butter Jelly]

Which province do you live in cuz I know how BC and ONT works but not the others though there are slight variations within BC and ONT.

Btw, 7s in all subject is very difficult to achieve. It's usually around 95-96%% to get a predicted 7 in your class. Getting a 7 is a whole other story!

And I see you are taking HL English - One of the hardest subjects to get a 7 in. (2% people get it)

[Prowess]

Which province do you live in cuz I know how BC and ONT works but not the others though there are slight variations within BC and ONT.

Btw, 7s in all subject is very difficult to achieve. It's usually around 95-96%% to get a predicted 7 in your class. Getting a 7 is a whole other story!

And I see you are taking HL English - One of the hardest subjects to get a 7 in. (2% people get it)

Hey!

I'm in BC

Thanks for all the answers so far.

Edited November 10, 2011 by Nick Habibi

[Peanut Butter Jelly]

I see. Well in BC teachers usually will predict a 7 if you're 95+ and have good work habits and did fairly well on your IA's. Your teacher can also predict you a 7, say in math, if he/she doesn't scale with a 70%+. But usually, your BC 'ministry' mark is scaled and needs to be around 95%+ to be predicted a 7.

Some teachers will even predict you a 7 if you get a 95%, but they know you wont get it in the actual. (For example in English). However, other times, you may end up with 95% or lower, and not get predicted a 7 but end up with a 7 (like Math)

The best thing is to ask how the teacher gives predicted grades.

good luck

[khalid]

Bascially, they will look at your tests and how did you preform. But if you did a end of year exam or a mock exam, they would heavily rely on that. Since you asked about maths, it would be around 82% and above for a 7. This is an approximation not an accurate

[GeekChloe]

Looking at what everyone else is saying...Canada clearly has different mark bands for IB. Generally speaking, in most of my classes...

70-79= 4s

80-89= 5s

90-95= 6s

95+= 7s

That's a pretty rough estimate, though.

[evie'sessencecenolour]

You're thinking too much about those grades, but in reality it's not about getting or recieving those 7's. It's the journey you take along the way to reach your goal, Y O U R GOAL.

Work Hard, Be willing but at times of failure and downfall keep strong. It's better to be surprised then expected, where's the fun in that?