When will the pre-release for the May 2017 session be available? Pre-release is published on 1 April. Is there an exact date for the release of the Nov 2016 exam results? These are scheduled for March. We will communicate the date when it is known. Is there any recommended software available for teachers to build their own on-screen exams to help prepare the students to an on-screen environment? Is there any chance the IB will release the exam making tool so that teachers could make their own exams to help with familiarization? We are currently working with a vendor and hope to be able to make this recommendation within the next year. In the meantime, please use the specimen exams found on the online curriculum centre (OCC). There are a range of products available for teachers to produce online or on-screen activities but none are endorsed or recommended by the IB. Where exactly can we find the marked exemplars? May 2016 exemplar marked candidate responses are available for selected subjects and can be found on the appropriate subject page in the eassessment May 2016 section of the OCC and also in the MYP programme resource centre. Are marked exemplars of PP available? These are due for release in March. Are marked exemplars of eportfolios available? These are scheduled for March. What is the student response service? The web-based student response service is available to all IB World schools and enables teachers to view student responses to specimen on-screen examinations. The service requires the upload of candidate response files, which are generated once an examination ends; PDF versions of the responses are subsequently returned via email. All specimen examination packages available to download from the OCC are compatible with the service. Are all of the maths questions calculator based? No, there are a range of different question types, please download one of our examinations from the maths home page on the OCC or programme resource centre. When will the new topic list be published? The new topic lists have been published in the latest eassessment development report now available on the OCC PRC. When will the topic list for 2018 be available?
The new topic lists have been published in the latest eassessment development report now available on the OCC PRC. How do we familiarize our staff with the on-screen technology, other than the specimen paper? Specimen MYP eassessment on-screen examinations for all subjects are currently available on the OCC. Navigate to your subject of choice from the MYP dropdown on the home page then scroll down to eassessment Specimen Examinations. Is there any plan to develop an MYP3 eassessment in addition to the MYP5 to help students become familiar and comfortable with the online format? Not at this time. Will there be specimen papers for the revised mark schemes of 100 marks and 80 marks? No, the changes do not affect teaching and learning or preparation for the exams other than the time taken for completion being a little shorter for science and mathematics. Where can the topic lists be accessed? The topics list can be found under the MYP Coordinator's page on the OCC. Once there, scroll down to "eassessment May 2017" and select either the PDF or the web page. The topics lists are found under "Subject group details." Will the duration of the eassessments change in proportion to the reduction in marks? No. The time will remain the same. We would like to develop semester exams for MYP 1-5. What advice can you give or support documents can you point to that will help teachers develop MYP criteriarelated summative exams that are in line with the MYP5 eassessment formats (in paper format)? Please refer to the blueprints, exams and mark schemes available. For assessments that represent the style of eassessment each strand of each criteria should be assessed and marks should be balanced across the four criteria. Use command terms carefully and ensure mark schemes reflect the level of demand expected of them. Compare the rigour of the questions and mark schemes are reflects that found in the past examinations. What platform do students to use to compile their eportfolios, specifically documenting their research? A range of media formats are supported for eportfolio upload including conventional word and pdf documents. Details can be found in the Handbook of Procedures.
Why do specimen exam packages have an expiration date? As we update the software, we want all of the packages to benefit from fixes and improvements. How do you convince teachers that they still need to focus on conceptual understanding? There are teachers who now feel that they must teach content and forget about concepts. Feedback from the first session showed that students who felt they had focused excessively on knowledge and understanding were unable to demonstrate their knowledge in the exam. Other students who lacked a good subject underpinning equally struggled with some questions. This is because the exams require a good balance between concepts, skills and knowledge. Students a required to transfer and adapt their understanding to novel situations. Through this approach and asking open ended questions, even with science and math exams, we reward deep conceptual understanding and not simple recall. The advice for supporting students remains good MYP classroom practice that helps students to: understand and demonstrate achievement against all strands of MYP subject-specific criteria generate and answer their own factual, conceptual and debatable questions develop confidence in applying what they know in unfamiliar situations think critically and creatively about MYP key and related concepts and the relationships among them practise approaches to learning (ATL) skills in communication and presentation onscreen, and under examination conditions explore multiple facets of ideas and phenomena within a range of global contexts use multiple perspectives to analyse issues and challenges adapt, modify and expand on what they already know, based on additional information learn how to generalize, generate new methods, and use procedural knowledge flexibly to solve complex problems attend to, and be able to explain, their reasoning and problem-solving process. Is it possible to find all specimen exam packages from previous years in one place? In OCC so far I saw only those from May 2015. It would be good to have exam packages from May and November 2016, too. They are all on the same subject page but there are separate sections for May 2015 and November 2016 resources.
What is meant by "subject group flexibility" and how does it work? Subject group flexibility supports schools in meeting local requirements and can offer students opportunities to create individual pathways for further learning. Whenever possible, schools should continue to provide all students with opportunities to engage in the study of eight subject groups in MYP years 4 and 5. If students are better served in years 4 and 5 by studying fewer than eight subject groups, schools may offer subject-group flexibility, provided the following conditions are met. Students must be able to choose courses from at least six subject groups, which must include: o language and literature o language acquisition (or a second language and literature course, taught in a different language) o individuals and societies o sciences o mathematics o one additional subject group (arts, design, or physical and health education). These six subject groups must be studied concurrently. Subject groups in MYP years 4 and 5 must be taught independently. Schools can offer students the opportunity to choose subjects or disciplines in MYP year 5 that are different from those they have studied in MYP year 4, including a different additional subject group (arts, design or physical and health education). Student achievement in MYP year 5 must be assessed against the required subjectspecific criteria. For students pursuing IB-validated grades through MYP eassessment, the IB recommends 70 teaching hours for each subject or discipline studied in each of the final two years of the programme. Students subject choices should reflect their plans for further study, including adequate preparation for the DP and IBCC, where appropriate. When will the DP move to eassessments? The DP is initiating a consultation with DP schools to establish a schedule. How many schools registered for eassessments in the November vs. the May 2016 exams? 153 schools participated in the May 2016 eassessments vs. 37 in November (November typically has far fewer schools registered than May). As of 25 January 2017, 184 schools have registered for the May 2017 session. What does PRM mean? Pre Release material (published on the OCC).
When will November 2016 eassessments be available to use as practice for students? They are scheduled for publishing in March. Will eassessments ever be required? No. When in March will the familiarization package be available? MYP on-screen familiarization 2016 for students is available on the OCC now. The 2017 package will be posted in mid March. The only development requiring familiarisation is an improved wiris editor and we would suggest students are familiarise with the 2016 version in the meantime. Is there a list of subject topics for each Global Context? The Global Context topic for May 2017 can be found on the OCC under eassessment May 2017. Where can we get the ID pre release materials for previous years? The pre-release material for the November 2016 Interdisciplinary learning onscreen examination can be found on the OCC under eassessment November 2016. The May 2016 material remains on the website but has a different tab at the top of the page. Our school did not get the PHE reports and upon inquiry I was told that the reports were not available because the moderator was in agreement with the school. I thought we should get reports despite this? The assessment division's policy is to provide feedback focused on the standard of assessment by the schools for internally assessed work, explaining where the standards differ from the global standard. Feedback is therefore not provided If we endorse a school's marking standard as being at the global standard. How can a school better support maths and eportfolio subjects? Study the examinations, partially completed unit planners, mark schemes, blueprints, exemplars and subject reports. An understanding of the structures that underpin the assessment in these subjects is key to understanding how to help students. Why is there no importance given to functional/communication objectives in Language B? Functional communication is an integral part of communication and so implicitly assessed in the criteria.
Which TI calculator is best suited for familiaring students with eassessments in Mathematics? The TI calculator in the on-screen examination is the TI-30X. Will there be sample/practice exams for eassessment for MYP years 2, 3 and 4? There are no plans for this but a school based authoring system is being developed for teachers to create their own or adapt the questions created by the IB. How often will the topics for eassessments change? With the changes explained in the development report, we do not anticipate any more changes during the lifetime of the subject guides. When will the papers for English Language and Literature be issued? The May 2015 specimen can be found on the OCC under eassessment Specimen Examinations, however the May 16 exam is available on request from the IB. This is because we have copyright permission issues with this particular exam and so can't distribute it via the internet (OCC). How can a school better support Language acquisition/drama/music? Study the examinations, partially completed unit planners, mark schemes, blueprints, exemplars and subject reports. An understanding of the structures that underpin the assessment in these subjects is key to understanding how to help students. Do all students in a school have to register for eassessments? No. Only students who aim to achieve the MYP Certificate must register for eassessments. To achieve the MYP Certificate, a student must complete eight eassessments. There are: on-screen examinations in: o Mathematics o Language and literature o Sciences o Individuals and societies o Interdisciplinary learning eportfolios (coursework) in: o Language acquisition o Physical and health education, arts, or design the MYP Personal project.
Candidates also must meet school requirements for participation in community service (service as action). Students receive IB MYP course results for each component completed. The maximum total score for the IB MYP certificate is 56, with a grade from 1-7 assigned to each required eassessment. Students must achieve a total of at least 28 points, with a grade of '3' or higher in each eassessment component, to be eligible to receive the IB MYP certificate. How can students have access to the live specimen exams? Specimen examinations can be downloaded from the OCC. Do many students take all three sciences? No. Most students sit only one science exam. There is no exam package for English L&L. Could you please check this and upload it. The May 2015 specimen can be found on the OCC under eassessment Specimen Examinations, however the May 2016 exam is available on request from the IB. This is because we have copyright permission issues with this particular exam and so can't distribute it via the internet (OCC). How do we make a decision as a school about offering discrete or integrated subjects? What should be the criteria? Study the topic lists and past examinations, choose subjects that best match the approach to subject delivery preferred by your school. All subject within a subject group are carefully coordinated to be of equivalent demand. What software is used to create the simulation and graph related questions? These are custom built in-house. Are students allowed to use handheld calculators rather than the on-screen one? No. Refer to Section 9 of The conduct of IB Middle Years Programme on-screen examinations on the OCC. Are there plans to have Russian as a recognized Language and literature examination for certification? The subject offering is currenty being reviewed.
Will there be samples for either Arts or Design or PHE portfolio in the OCC? We have samples due for publication during March. If a student does not opt for eassessments but would like an MYP certificate, in what way can schools assist them? Students must take part in eassessment to obtain a certificate. Does participation in eassessments mean that a school does not have to send in BQC samples? Participation in MYP BQC is required for schools that do not register at least one student for eassessment who is a candidate for the IB MYP certificate. Can the on-screen calculator be made available independently of eassessments? The on-screen calculator is available via a cost from Texas Instruments. When should the topics list be covered? All in Year 5 or Years 4 & 5? Through Year 4 and 5.