DP Assessment Policy

Diploma Program Assessment Policy

IB Diploma Program (DP) Curriculum is centered around ambitious learning standards and clearly defined criteria for all students and teachers. International Scholars Academy (ISA) intends to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (DP) for grades 11 and 12. We aim to produce ISA scholars as graduates who embody the 10 IB Learner Profile attributes: “inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk- takers, balanced, and reflective.” The IB Diploma Program prepares students for effective participation in a rapidly evolving and increasingly global society. Teaching and learning in the DP are informed by assessment. The ongoing cycle of formative and summative assessment, as well as internal and external assessment at ISA provides a means for assessment and tasks that stimulate observations, discussions, and further implications for teaching and learning.

TEACHING & LEARNING BASED ON ASSESSMENT IN THE DP

According to the IB Program Standards & Practices and Teaching & Learning in the IB, assessment in the DP is embedded in the curriculum and promotes the following:

Sharing learning intentions and success criteria
Eliciting evidence of learning
Analyzing and interpreting data
Providing quality feedback to teachers and learners
Using evidence to inform and adapt learning and teaching
Teachers and students are agents in an active and cyclical learning process (IB, 2021, Teaching & Learning Based on Assessment in the DP).

IB students, teachers, and parents at ISA can monitor progress on formative and summative assessments at the Academy. Teachers provide guidance to students based on the respective IB Diploma Program subject guides. The Academy uses the online Learner Management Systems (LMS) to record and provide assessment information and grading in the DP. Login information is provided by the school so that stakeholders may stay updated with performance throughout the Diploma Program coursework across the two years of the program.

The respective LMS system at the International Scholars Academy is used to support curriculum development, reflection before, during, and after, DP unit planning, as well as to report and record information for the DP Internal Assessments and core DP requirements such as, DP C-A-S, the DP Extended Essay, and DP Theory of Knowledge (TOK). According to the DP Internal Assessment calendar dates, marks, and grades from teachers are sent to IB based on the information required by IB.

The learner management system and regular collaborations with IB teachers aid in the support of DP faculty recording grades, reporting on assessment, and determining DP predicted grades and marks. These systems also enable students and parents to remain actively involved in the learning process as well as school leadership team members to be actively involved in DP progress and monitoring of students’ growth and achievement throughout the duration of the IB DP program. Students receive both feedback and progress against the IB criteria in all IB DP courses.

The progress recording and reporting of assessments helps stakeholders at the Academy to keep in mind that formative assessments in the DP are designed to promote learning, cycles of feedback, and help to inform planning, instruction, and learning. While summative assessments are designed to measure the consolidation of learning and are usually assigned at the end of a unit of study or topic. Summative assessments at ISA are considered as a demonstration of achievement levels based on IB DP criteria, competence, and readiness to progress and transition to the next level.

Assessments are included in the design of IB DP coursework and are developed and reflected on annually for refinement and updates to the curriculum for each DP course and unit of instruction.

At ISA, each unit of instruction in the DP includes at least two (or more) formative assessments before the summative assessment, and at least one summative assessment per DP
Formative and summative assessment tasks must include criteria-based information that aligns with the aims and objectives of the
Students must be assigned at least one (or more) criteria-based formative before a DP criterion based summative to ensure learning and to identify areas where more instruction may be needed before the summative

DP Internal Assessments (IAs)at the Academy are teacher guided, focused on student inquiry, and are moderated by the IB. DP Internal Assessments are aligned to the subject/DP core content specific rubrics. Teachers are also active in developing rubrics to guide formative assessment. Students and teachers may also collaboratively develop student friendly and/or peer rubrics for formative tasks that are also aligned with the IB DP assessment rubrics available in the DP subject guides. Assessments are conducted both internally and externally as required by the IB DP.

Internal Assessments (IAs) & INTERNAL DP MODERATION

Faculty and student schedules for internally marked/graded assessments are developed based on the school determined IB DP Internal Assessment schedule (IA Major Deadlines & IA Schedule for the DP) which is updated annually by the IB DP Coordinator and the IB DP Faculty.

DP Assessment moderation for internally marked assessments follows an internal moderation procedure relying on the IB DP assessment rubrics. Teachers of similar DP subjects/DP core are to collaborate with one another in to ensure quality and to validate the IA scores/marks/grades of DP student achievement levels each DP session. For example,

Group 1 Language A faculty members moderate Language IAs,
Group 2 Language Acquisition faculty moderate IAs,
Group 3 Individuals & Societies faculty moderate IAs,
Group 4 Science faculty moderate Labs/IAs,
Group 5 Math faculty moderate investigative IAs,
DP Core: EE & TOK and the Group 6 Visual Arts/Group 6 faculty and DP Coordinator moderate IAs and DP Core assessments,
DP Coordinator will moderate or discuss IAs grades/marks each DP year and before they are entered into IBIS with each DP faculty member.

Meetings for internal assessment moderation occur during the scheduled DP Program meeting times as well as teacher collaborative planning times and monthly grade level meetings as needed to ensure that DP IAs are moderated against IB criteria. The IB rubrics are rated by each faculty member against the IB criteria and a discussion of the final grade to be awarded is determined by evaluating the student performance on the assessment against the IB criteria to arrive at a final IA mark/grade/score. Feedback is only provided to students for IAs during the formative process. The final complete IA once moderated internally by DP faculty is the assessment mark/grade that will be used and sent to IB according to the IB deadline set forth by IB each session.

Teachers have the discretion to share the predicted grades reported to the IB DP however, internal grades are to be reported and recorded using the Learner Management System and throughout the teaching process so that students and stakeholders are aware of progress and performance in all DP courses.

DP EXAMS/SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

External DP examinations follow the IB DP examination schedule set forth by the IB. ISA is a May Session school, thus the Academy follows the IB DP May Examination schedule. May Exam schedules are published through class information, school newsletters, school calendars, and are made available to DP faculty in the Fall of each school year. Students are provided with IB DP syllabi at the start of each course and are directed to review the syllabi each semester for important dates and deadlines.

Students must complete both internal and external assessments that meet IB requirements and that are aligned with DP aims, objectives, and subject specific criteria. Summative tasks in the DP that are cumulative in nature are generally either based on IB Papers and IB DP mock examinations are provided at the end of each semester. Depending on the nature of the course and DP course syllabus at ISA summative assignments may also be portfolios or project-based inquiry including labs and projects which are also assigned for summative assessment.

DP GRADING at ISA

DP grades at the culmination of the course are assigned based on the DP scales of 1-7 and are translated in the gradebook into percentages in keeping with U.S. grading systems.

Final marks awarded and exam and subject scores awarded by the IB DP are reported by the DP and are available and accessed through the online IB DP student reporting system for IB candidates. The table below (Figure 1.1) outlines the DP grading scale, and the percentages calculated based on the DP marks at ISA.

Figure 1.1: DP Grading Scale & Translations by Percentages

Score	IB Diploma Mark
100%-95%	7
94% -85%	6
84% -79%	5
83% -70%	4 (passing condition)
69% -59%	3
58% - 49%	2
Below 49%	1
No submission = Considered not submitted -Failing Condition	N
Failing condition for the EE: Scale is A-E	A, B, C, D, E
Additional Information:	Marks & Grades
Pass/Fail: any P/F course is designed for the award of credit and receives the mark of either pass or fail rather than a grade/mark/percentage.	Not Applicable: internal use for P/F courses.
Internal Assessment Deadlines set forth by the teacher must be met. IB rubrics will be provided in classes and will be on the school LMS. C-A-S is a portfolio of work for juniors and seniors that is assessed only for completion. The May Session IB Examination deadlines are set by IBO. The mark of 4 / 60% at is a passing mark.	The IBO may assign a grade of N for non-submission of work or missing components including incomplete examinations. NG: As a sanction for academic misconduct "No Grade" will result. At ISA Academic misconduct follows consequences, see the ISA Academic Integrity/Academic Honesty Policy.

The link below to information on the IB DP Grade Descriptors provides the detailed IB DP grade descriptors for each IB DP course/subject.

IB DP Grade Descriptors Information:

http://ibo.org/contentassets/0b0b7a097ca2498ea50a9e41d9e1d1cf/dp-grade-descriptors-en.pdf

ISA uses a standardized weight for formative and summative tasks. The school uses a semester system that follows two semesters (Fall & Spring). Formative assessments include for example, such as and not limited to warmups, discussions, quizzes, class work, homework, reflections, exit cards, rough drafts, small projects, and investigation tasks are worth 40% of the semester grade. Formative assessments that are DP criteria based are marked/graded by DP faculty/HS teachers and are recorded and reported in the LMS at least once a week throughout each semester.

Summative assessments for example are, such as and not limited to tests, major quizzes, projects, explorations, classroom discussions, IB internal and external assessment components, and presentations which account for 60% of the grade. There will be first semester and final semester exams. For each semester, the first quarter grade is 40%, second semester is 40%, and the semester exam is worth 20% of the semester grade.

ISA High School Grading Policy (made available in HS/DP syllabi)

Formative and Summative Assessment Grades

Teachers provide formative assessments to gauge student comprehension and individual and group needs. Participation in formative assessments can also reflect a student’s engagement and effort in a learning environment. While teachers and the IB Coordinator will give priority to summative assessment in determining a student’s overall grade (reflecting both excellence and effort), IB teachers may also consider formative assessment grades. Formative assessment grading policies shall not be used as punishment or other negative reinforcement. Streamlining the assessment categories provides a more accurate picture of student learning as teachers provide a balanced assessment of oral, performance and written tasks.

Assessment also:

Creates clarity among disciplines
Greatly reduces the possibility of teachers overlooking the skew of one grade
Allows for balance and diversity of assessment
Gives more weight to classwork assignments and the process of learning and understanding versus solely performing well on major assessments.

ISA students are assessed using the two categories below:

Assessment Grade Categories	Weighted Percentages	Sample Designations:
Formative Assessment for Learning (These include Criteria Based – aligned with the IB criteria and Formative)	40%	Prompt responses, Discussions, Quizzes, Homework, Classwork, Paragraph writing, Quick Writes, Warm-ups, Reflective writing, Response writing, rough drafts, presentations, individual work, Participation Rubrics, Discussion Rubrics, Small Projects, Labs
Summative Assessment of Learning	60%	Tests, Research Papers, Major Quizzes, Projects, Final Essays, Presentations, Lab Reports, Debates, Oral Reports, Labs, Examinations

IB Approaches to Learning:

Grade	Grading Scale	Quality	Grade Point Equivalent
F	0-59	Failing	0.0
D	60-64	Passing	1.0
D+	65-69	Below Average	1.5
C	70-74	Moderate	2.0
C+	75-79	Average	2.5
B	80-84	Good	3.0
B+	85-89	Very Good	3.5
A	90-94	Excellent	4.0
A+	95-100	Superior	4.0

Revision and Re-Submit Policy

At the discretion of the teacher and with administration approval, students who complete all formative assessments by the assigned deadlines (e.g.: homework, quizzes, etc.) may revise and re-submit summative assessments for an improved grade. This is to aid in the process of formative learning and to develop and promote high achievement against the IB criteria and course aims and objectives.

Regarding unexcused absences and making up missing work/late work to ensure equity, the policy is as follows:

Once the requirements for the summative tasks are met and within a reasonable time frame, the student may schedule the retake with the teacher (provided the absence is excused or under special accommodation(s) or circumstances approved by the school office).
Formative assessments that are not classroom based may be made up and accepted as late work (provided the circumstances follow as above).
Classroom based formative assessments (warm-ups, in class discussions, in class activities & assignments, etc.) may be accepted at the discretion of the teacher or a teacher may assign a "0" grade for missed formative tasks that were classroom based.

ISA Graduation Requirements

A minimum of 28 credits is required for students to graduate from ISA. One credit is equivalent to a minimum of 150 instructional hours of study. Credits needed vary according to core subjects according to the list below.

Arabic: 4
Islamic Studies: 4
English: 4
Social Studies: 3
Mathematics: 3
Science: 3
Design: 1
Arts: 1
PE & Health: 2
Electives: *4
Total: *29 Credit Hours

*4 Additional credits must be taken to at least two additional credits from mathematics, sciences, or social

Every student must meet ISA graduation requirements to graduate. Students may be allowed to take courses at other institutions for credit recovery after approval from academic leadership and school administration. Courses taken outside of ISA will not be credited unless they are preapproved, and the course must be taken at an accredited institution. Students entering ISA in grades 10 through 12 will be allowed to graduate with 3 Islamic credits.

Policy Creation Process

The DP Assessment Policy is reviewed each year by Diploma Program Faculty annually. The Head of School and/or designee, Director of Education, DP Coordinator, School Principals, and IB Coordinators as well as Academic Leadership team members review and revise IB policies annually at the end of each school year in June and July on an annual or bi- annual basis. This policy was last updated in July 2025 for the upcoming school year.