UK International Baccalaureate’s Middle Years Programme students will now receive grades in core subjects, awarded on a similar basis to pupils studying GCSEs, Tes can reveal.
The grades are to be awarded using teacher predictions, a rank order, and historical data, following a U-turn by the IB following talks with Ofqual, England’s exams regulator.
The IB cancelled on-screen exams in core subjects such as English and maths in April. And then last month it issued an update revealing there would be no grades for these subjects either. “For May 2020, this means grades will not be issued for subjects with on-screen exams,” it said.
Coronavirus: IB cancels Middle Years Programme exams
News: No grades for IB Middle Years core subjects
Coronavirus: International Baccalaureate cancels exams
At the time, one headteacher said the decision not to award grades had been made by “stealth” and could leave MYP pupils with “lifelong disadvantage” compared with pupils sitting GCSEs.
Now in an email to headteachers seen by Tes, the IB has told schools that following a request from Ofqual, it “will calculate grades for the cancelled on-screen subjects” with no extra fees for students.
The IB it has decided to follow “a similar grade awarding methodology” to this summer’s GCSEs for MYP results, despite “conceptual programme differences between the IB and other awarding bodies”.
The methodology to calculate results would be based on “ePortfolio results, predicted grades and historical data using the rank order as an important quality check on the overall outcomes”.
The IB said it had taken ongoing conversations with Ofqual since March “seriously” as IB UK schools fall under Ofqual’s jurisdiction.
“As always, we have the wellbeing and the future prospects of our students as our prime objective and we want to do what is best for them and for our schools,” the email says.
“Furthermore, the outcome of this consultation is the requirement for IB to comply with Ofqual’s qualification Category 1 requirements, under which the IB MYP programme falls, which is to calculate a grade in the absence of examinations.”
“We continue to trust your professional judgment in the predicted grades for your students. As we have communicated with you, the IB calculating grades under these circumstances would not be in alignment with our own rigorous and standardised principles and assessment practices of international education.
“However, as the circumstance has changed, and with students’ best interest in mind, we will calculate grades for the cancelled on-screen subjects based on Ofqual’s request at no additional fees to students.”
Schools have been asked to produce a rank order of pupils for each cancelled on-screen assessment and upload these by July 3.
“The IB will use the predicted grades we already have on file and historical performance for each on-screen subject to calculate statistical correlations to award grades,” the email says
“We cannot guarantee that the calculated grades will be similar to the predicted grades you have submitted because the calculated grade takes into account a range of evidence. As a result of this process, you will receive a certificate with an IB issued grade for the on-screen exam subjects.”
It adds the IB is “sincerely sorry for the added complexity and the short timeline, but we are committed to issuing the MYP results by August 1, 2020” and would inform schools if this date were to change.
“We appreciate your patience, partnership and commitment in this work to serve our students as best as we can,” it says.
Paula Wilcock, IB chief assessment officer, said: “Based on the latest discussions with Ofqual, the IB continues to be as transparent as possible about its arrangements to ensure that the organisation can issue fair and reliable grades.
“The IB gives its utmost gratitude for the support, commitment and efforts of IB World Schools to the benefit of students around the world, and will work with its school community on the requirement to submit rank order data for those learners receiving a calculated grade. The IB sincerely apologises for the short timeline to meet this additional requirement.”
The IB says it is committed to issuing MYP results on 1 August 2020 and will inform its schools if this date has to change.
