Due to the COVID-19 crisis, International Baccalaureate (IB) exams have been forced to accommodate. This year’s exams have been cancelled worldwide. 

Previous exams had been administered during the last week of school to contribute to a student’s IB score. 

“IB exams are a portion of students’ IB scores, so there are a lot of questions about the calculation of student grades,” IB Diploma Coordinator Amy Walker said. 

Because IB exams are just one aspect of a student’s IB score, the IB Program is still giving out scores. Colleges will still be administering credit.

“How much credit is given for particular IB scores is determined by individual colleges,” Walker said. “Each institution gets to determine how much is given for each course. IB is communicating with colleges about the changes. At this point, this is all we know.”

IB teachers are still required to teach all of this year’s curriculum, despite other courses being optional. Next year’s curriculum for IB will not change due to exams being cancelled. 

“For those students who are testing this year, teachers still have to get through all of the content that would have appeared on the exam,” Walker said. “IB requires teachers to submit predicted grades. These predicted grades that are submitted by teachers are based on student performance of all of the curriculum, not just what was taught before Spring Break. For courses that are two years, first-year students will need to continue to work through the IB curriculum during this time. Because of the quantity of material that has to be covered during two-year courses, teachers will not be able to just stop teaching for this quarter.”

There have been mixed feelings from students due to the cancellation of exams. 

“I suspect are experiencing a lot of mixed emotions,” Walker said. “Exams are stressful, so having them cancelled may be a relief.  But students who are in IB courses have worked very hard, so I’m sure there are elements of disappointment and concern, as well.”