‘RANDOM’ GRADES BY IBO IN GENEVA DESTROYS TOP IB STUDENTS’ DREAMS – UPDATE !
UPDATE! IB RESULTS SCANDAL 2020
by Chené Koscielny
Thousands of top IB students at international schools across the world, including Geneva, have lost out on university offers because of so-called ‘standardised’ grading in the absence of 2020 IB exams. The IB diploma is offered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), headquartered in Geneva.
The issue has been dubbed “IB results scandal 2020” in news publications around the world.
UPDATE: I’m happy to report that my daughter’s story below can be updated – as she has since been offered a place at her first choice university in London to study medicine.
I want to make it clear that her acceptance was in NO WAY due to anything the IBO (International Baccalaureate Organisation) has done – and was purely a decision taken by the university based on her application. They chose to ignore the IBO’s standardised grades.
However, there are still many deserving students, like her, who have not been as lucky and who will miss out on a year of education. The IBO’s much belated and confusing efforts to address the problem had no impact on my daughter’s situation and would have still left her without a university place, had her first choice uni not decided to accept her regardless of her grades, which technically no longer met their entry requirements.
We have yet to receive the results of an appeal on behalf of my daughter from the IBO – and now university places for many courses are full and there is much more competition – following a UK government decision to allow A-level students to use predicted grades for applications. The IBO has refused to allow the same, putting IB students at a significant disadvantage.
My personal opinion remains that the IBO senior management have proven themselves to be totally insensitive to the needs of thousands of their own students – with no clarity, no apology and much delayed and inadequate action to protect students. Their approach, in my opinion, shared by many parents, students and teachers on forums and social media channels around the world, can only be described as seriously incompetent and arrogant. They are a law onto themselves, handsomely funded by us, the international parents.
I truly believe the IB is a worthwhile diploma. Unfortunately, the IBO management renders the diploma worthless if they can’t protect students during times of crisis – as they have shown during 2020.
Our hearts go out to all the IB students who are still faced with the stress and heartache (as described in Paula’s story below) caused by an organisation which has shown weak and ineffective management – letting down and potentially altering the life course of thousands of students.
PAULA’S STORY
This is my daughter’s story – but she is one of thousands of children around the world, including Geneva, particularly in the Sciences and Maths – who have had their futures destroyed overnight.
A petition against these ‘unfair’ grades has reached nearly 25,000 signatures.
(Since then the UK A-level results also proved to be a ‘fiasco’, but the situation was swiftly addressed through UK government intervention, allowing students to apply to universities using their predicted grades. This, however, still leaves it too late for some of them to find university places for this year. Note that the IBO has refused to allow IB students to do the same, putting them at a significant disadvantage.
SO CLOSE TO ACHIEVING HER DREAM!
For the past 2 years, Paula, now 18, has put her heart and soul into her dream of studying medicine in the UK.
Based in Geneva, she worked incredibly hard and was 100% dedicated to her studies. She passed the UCAT (medical school admissions exam) with a very good score.
She secured offers from 3 top UK universities after gruelling personal interviews.
She had to choose two universities as her top choices, discarding all other offers, including offers from Canada, confident that one of these would work out based on her performance to date and her exam results. She was very near to achieving her dream.
COVID_19: ‘WE TOLD HER THE IB RESULTS WOULD BE FAIR.’
Then the pandemic hit and she was devastated at not being able to sit the exams and having the opportunity to reap the benefits of her dedicated studies.
We assured her that the IB results for 2020 would be fair and that her dream would not be shattered, believing that there would be leniency in such a difficult time!
We were not prepared for the shock of results that had nothing in common with Paula’s consistent performance during the past two years.
She kept saying: “These are not my results!”
Due to what was first called an algorithm and then ‘standardised grades’, my daughter dropped 6 points (some students dropped as much as 12 points!) and no longer had the grade in Chemistry she needed to qualify for medicine at her two elected universities. She now faces no place in any university and having to start all over again.
As widely reported in the UK, Paula’s case is hardly unique and particularly affects Science and Maths candidates in smaller schools, as well as students in the 37 to 42 point brackets – in other word: top achievers! Small schools appear to have been particularly disadvantaged too.
The algorithm/standardised grades system has not been fully made public, so no-one is clear as to why these students have been affected in this way. IBO’s consistent claim in a universal press statement is that the process was “fair and robust.” There has been no acknowledgement that any children have been disadvantaged.
(Since then the IBO after a huge outcry from parents and teachers amended the appeals process somewhat, but to date my daughter has not received a reply to the appeals. Confusing further amendments resulted in some students being awarded additional points – but weirdly, not those, like my daughter at the top, who needed the points! It appears the latest changes relate to allowing students to apply based on their IA results – internal assessments marked by external examiners, i.e. not predicted grades from their own teachers.
STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN!
Since Monday (results day), Paula has not left the house. She is totally devastated and can’t understand why this is happening and how she could have come so close, only to lose everything.
We, as parents, don’t know how to help her. How do we motivate a child, who has given everything, only to robbed of the results of her hard work by an unfair system?
Paula’s only option appears to be to re-sit not only the UCAT, but also ‘retake’ the exam in November – hoping to achieve a place in 2021 – so, to start all over again and miss out on a year of her education.
PERSONAL APPEALS TO IBO IGNORED
Our personal appeals to the senior management at the IBO have fallen on deaf ears and there has been zero acknowledgement anywhere in any of the media from them that some children may have been disadvantaged. (This is still the case 6 weeks after results have been released.)
Their official statement says the process was ‘robust and fair.’ This is a hard pill to swallow for young adults like Paula, who now have no hope of achieving their dreams anytime soon!
SADLY, I believe any further action, including two potential class action legal cases, may be too late for this year’s IB students, but at the very least our experience this year should act as a warning for parents considering the IB diploma for their children in the future!
MORE NEWS COVERAGE
For excellent news coverage on this – follow TES Times Education Supplement Catherine Lough
The IB results scandal 2020 has been making headlines around the world. The Financial Times, Guardian, UK Times, Telegraph, Newsweek, as well as publications around the world have reported on the #IBSCANDAL.
Let us know if you’ve been affected in the comments below!
My daughter was devastated by the results of 9 points lower than the predicted grades. All her work during the last 2 years was in the 6s and 7s and she was looking forward to study Arts & Sciences at UCL in London. With the IBO grades she is left with no university place. All down to statistical modelling that had nothing to do with my daughter’s performance at school. Total shambles!
Hi Monika – Sorry to hear this. These kids deserve better. Are you also in Geneva? Let’s hope someone forces the IBO to come to their senses. In the meantime please share this post widely to help raise awareness of this issue. Thanks and good luck.
My son has suffered the same fate in Geneva. 42 points down to 38. Crucial maths downgraded. Lost his spot at Imperial after a smashingly fantastic I nterview Even UCL said no. Have appealed but no good. I will jjoin anybody ready to go to court. He has lost a year. He is I n shock at the system . He I s going to sit the maths exam this November. New IA as well. It’s a disaster.
HI Arpana – so sorry to hear about your son.
I know there is at least one group planning legal action – I can’t find the link now – but ask on this forum – https://www.facebook.com/groups/727404504740471/?ref=share
I absolutely believe these children deserve better and the IBO should not get away with this.
Is there anyone anywhere in the world who can help get ready a law suit to IBO whose lack of transparent actions ruined so many talented young people. The fact that it is an international organization shouldn’t exempt IBO the obligation to be subject to justice and equity.
Hi Monica,
I too held an offer to study at UCL however my score was dropped and now I have missed my offer. Has UCL sent an email to your daughter, because I have not received anything. Not a rejection letter, nor any acknowledgment of the situation. However, I know they are aware that the IB results have been a real mess this year and that may be why they’re holding off? I’m not sure.
Hi Laura – sorry to hear you’re in the same boat. We have not had an outright no, but because of the algorithm my daughter’s grades don’t meet the requirements for medicine at these top unis any longer. We also hope they will take the situation into account. We believe they are awaiting to assess the situation after A-level results come out, but it’s nerve-wrecking and not looking good at the moment. Please share this article to help raise awareness of the issue – and good luck!
My daughter was also marked down 4 points and now hasn’t got into her UK University. They worked so hard. If she’d taken the exam she would have got her predicted grade. It’s a complete fiasco! Not acceptable!
I’m absolutely delighted to read of your daughter’s good news. Sadly we are not in the same boat – my daughter’s prospects of a place at Cambridge rest on the results of her appeal. Perhaps the IB will surprise us….
My daughter is in the same position. Predicted 39 points received 34! 3 offers to study medicine in the U.K., however needed 666HL to include bio and chem, IB gave her 654! She has never had a grade 5 or 4 before and her School are really struggling to make any sense of it. Also needed 36 points overall which has also now been missed.
Like you I think the grades should be based on what we know, such as previous work. I am hoping the Unis will use the UCAT and interview performance rather than a flawed algorithm!
Hi Sarah – sorry to hear you’re also in the same boat. Seems they have exactly the same problem. Are you also in Geneva? We are also hoping that the unis will be lenient as the IBO certainly wasn’t. Good luck – and please share this article widely to help raise awareness. Thank you.
We live in the U.K.. The Uni hasn’t rejected her yet, but we expect they will soon. The school are writing to the Uni with evidence of past work etc , prepared to do everything we can. Also about to make a formal appeal via the IB coordinator.
It’s so frustrating that our children are being so unfairly treated on top of all the stress of Covid as well.
Because of the IBo genuine top students were denied places at top unis, after they have have spent years working for it. I feel going into clearing is not the right thing to do for these students. Rather do a gap year and get the grades that you are capable of, and apply again. And do whatever you can to hold the IBO responsible for this inhumane tragedy. I am all in for a class action law suit, which I see slowly developing on on other platforms.
This story is so similar to my daughther’s!! She is also a dedicated and excellent student who sacrificed so much during these last two years for he DP. She also was conditionally accepted at an top rated university for Medical School and now the IB, and we and her school were confident about her being accepted because of her historic performance that this IB score surprised and disappointed us so much. Her IB score is 8 points lower than her predicted score. It is so devastating, that specially during a pandemic that has highlighted the need for Medical Doctors to face the Public Health crisis is specifically intelligent, responsible and talented students willing to become doctors that have been affected. It is so unfair, and I think could be even considered as discrimination and hurting human right to education, because students were prepared for their exams and then the rules were changed because of a global emergency, and instead of being fair in their evaluations, all they had worked for was ignored.
Absolutely Leticia – couldn’t agree more. And what’s more we are paying for the exams and remarks and the IBO doesn’t even have the decency to admit any wrongdoing. There are so many things wrong with this – these children have already been through a lot, only to be penalised more. Meanwhile, I’m trying to understand who exactly the IBO is and who they report to – it seems they are a law onto themselves!
Ditto my daughter. No med school as predicted 7,7,6 went to 6,6,5 with 5 in chemistry. I see lots of talk about legal redress given the straight bat being played. Anyone know who is Co-ordinating this? Thanks
Everyone is waiting to see what happens with appeals – but I could put everyone on the comments below and a few other emails and whatsapp lists I have in one database, so we can at least form a group. Not likely to happen too soon though as I’m moving next week.
YES!!!!!!! We have also been crushed. We share ALL your concerns. Called & written to IBO Geneva office numerous times since the release of my son’s grades demanding transparency. No explanation yet. Thank you for sharing your story … keep the fight up!
Hi Nicole – sorry to hear this So many of our children in the same position – it’s just awful. I have been blocked by the IBO on LinkedIn for trying to approach them on there as there is no other way of reaching them – no email addresses for any senior staff. Their twitter account also blocked all comments after being inundated with complaints. There has not been ONE SINGLE statement in any media or on any social media channel to acknowledge this mess – all that we are getting is: The process was robust and fair! It is a total disgrace.
When I saw my grades I thought this some kind of a joke or something. Never in my whole two years of learning IB I imagined I would get this grade. I was frustrated and I still am. The fact that they used the school’s history to grade students is unfair. Not even close to what I thought I will receive as my results. I hope the IBO does something.
HI Ensaf – it is definitely unfair. Please share this article so that we raise more awareness of this injustice.
My daughter, and almost all of her cohort, are in the same position. It’s a school which also offers A levels, so only a small group of top achievers take the IB.
The effect on mental health of students is deeply concerning.
Hi Lucy – in these times when mental health is a major concern among young adults, the unfairness of this process combined with the insensitivity in which the whole thing is being handled by the IBO – with nowhere for these children to turn to speak to anyone. Leaving them in the lurch during what is meant to be their summer holiday – I find it inexcusable.
My son’s EE was marked with E grade (fail grade) meaning that despite obtaining more than the required 24 points to past, he is not getting his diploma. His supervising IB teacher was predicting a B or C for his work and he would never in his right mind allow my son to submit an EE work if it was not good enough to at least past.
I also truly believe that no IB examiner would grade an EE with a fail grade knowing that it would automatically deny the candidate from obtaining the diploma.
The only logical explanation is that my son was a victim of this readjusting algorithm.
Hi Jack – sorry to hear this. Because of the total lack of transparency from the IBO – nobody knows and we can only guess at how the students have been affected. What is totally obvious is that there are so many anomalies and that the process has been totally unfair. We need to hear someone at the IBO acknowledge that there has been a problem, but they’re keeping schtum. They need to be held accountable. Let’s hope the Ofqual investigation sheds some light.
In light of this scandal, most universities in Canada are reviewing their conditional acceptances by putting more weights in the student overall profile and less emphasis on the IB final grades. Luckily, my son got to hold on to his placement at UBC despite not obtaining his diploma. The IB has already lost its credibility with this fiasco.
My daughter from IB school in London had the same. She was predicted 38 and dropped 3 points missing the requirement for her university. She is going into Law but was taking HL Physics which I encouraged.
I know she worked so hard with athe effort and all these sleepless nights to be stolen from her life. She never got the grades that algorithm is predicting in IA or school years.
She is devastated and similar to you I do not know how to help her.
I fully empathise with you. My twin sons both failed to obtain their diploma. They dropped-10 and -6 points respectively and now have missed their first and security offers. They were hoping to study biomedical sciences in the UK. Stirling University has already rejected my son. Aston and Caledonian have not responded yet. We have been advised not to even consider a remarking as it would not produce any difference due to the current EUR rules.
They will have to take a gap year and “resit” in November. They are both very disappointed and depressed. I feel responsible for the this disaster as it was me who insisted that they do IBDP instead of A Levels. I have now regretted every single penny spent towards this corrupt and unethical organisation. I wish there was a way for us to come together and sue them.
Angie so sorry! What a nightmare for you too. I have been advocating for the IB too – but I am totally disgusted by the way this has been dealt with and I am now investigating this and honestly I can’t work out who they report to – are they a law onto themselves? Meanwhile, we paid a fortune for kids to take exams and now for remarks, which won’t help. It’s a total disgrace. Class action law suit definitely something to be considered. It appears some universities are starting to take not of the debacle and being more lenient – but it is a lucky dip after years of study and investment. IB definitely NOT the way to go forward.
My son who is at ISP in Paris is in the same situation. He dropped from 34 to 29, inconsistent with all of his work. Offers in Computer Science at Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, and Queen’s all not met. I have written two letters directly to the IB Director General, so far unanswered. Her email address is siva.kumari@ibo.org. I have also been in touch by email with the Financial Times reporter, Andrew Jack. He is the Global Education Editor. His email is andrew.jack@ft.com. The only way anything will happen seems to be by sheer volume of complaint. It is really devastating stuff.
Andrew – it’s a nightmare. I have even contacted them on Linkedin inmail as there is no transparency anywhere and couldn’t find addresses. I was immediately blocked of course and have received the same embarrassing PR statement they’ve put out everywhere. The FInancial Times article is great and the Sunday Times in Uk picked it up – now just waiting for BBC too. Good luck and let me know if you have any more tips etc. info@thingstodoingeneva.
You can also email complaints@ibo.org. Be prepared to keep writing. They are sending out standard responses. You are right though, if we bombard them, they will have to listen. Remember they must be audited as some point!
Yes Heidi – we all have to keep up the pressure and also involve the media – and get more people to sign the petition. Please share this article widely on social media and forward to friends to sign. We need to fight for our children as no-one else seems to be prepared to do it.
Hi Andrew,
I am also in Paris.
We’ve organised a group of parents at EJM.
We would be very interested in sharing information and ideas with you at ISP.
Thanks,
George
To me it seems that in order to make IB ML algorithm statistically correct with last years, they cocked students grade with random numbers in this process. Now IB is only saying that their result is in line with last years result but that was the purpose and target for their algorithm. Due to this random numbers generated in algorithm, some student are lucky and they have higher grades than PG so they are silent and demotivate others on this. Now if IB really trust that their algorithm is fair and without any random numbers then please make it public. As parents I think that is our rights to know how the final grade of our kids are computed so that we are sure that this is their individual grade but not due to some factor where they do not have any influence. IB please wake up otherwise it will too late for us.
Yes Rhyme – it seems they must have known that they will sacrifice the top students and then closed the shutters and hid awaiting the storm. There has been no explanation and no empathy and no outreach and no crisis comms. The IB in itself we have found to be a great programme, but the outcome currently is a lucky dip. The senior management must go.
This all sounds terribly frustrating for your kids. However, please let them know that many people around the world (and in Geneva) have suffered and are still suffering much worse consequences of the pandemic.
I suggest trying to overcome the shallowness of this post by putting things into perspective.
Of course other suffer much worse, but that doesn’t make the problem any less significant for those involved. Thank you for your comment.
We had exactly the same situation – our daughter, who consistently was a top student in her class, inexplicably dropped from 38 to 33. She now has the same grade as much weaker students in her class and promptly lost her place at one of the best Universities in her field in the UK. It is an outrage. Her school in Geneva is at a loss to explain what happened, they are as puzzled as we are. If she takes the exam in November, she would lose a year and no longer qualify for the much lower pre-Brexit European rates which will quadruple next year. It is a total disaster. I hope the IB`s management will come to their senses and take corrective action, but they have to do it fast.
Armin sorry to hear that – the IB coordinators are in a difficult situation as they are dependent on their accreditation from the IBO and have to reapply to qualify for this regularly. So, it is up to parents it seems to fight this publicly. IBO has not said a peep and I’m not holding my breath personally. I think the children’s only hope is that the universities take this debacle into account, but that may not save all. Either way the way in which this has been handled is appalling!
https://www.wired.com/story/algorithm-set-students-grades-altered-futures/
My son’s grades dropped from 43 to 37, being a academic scholar at his school. He now looks at missing his Econ offer at UCL.
In general, besides emotional and pschological damage to students and their parents, which is irreparable and unforgiveable, what is the economic damage? How about loss to society as well as students life earnings by missing out college or a good uni?
Net present value of lost lifetime earnings is at least USD 500,000 per student. Multiply this by 10,000 who are duped…I hope IBO has enough swiss francs to cover this, when the class action lawsuit comes their way.
I trust the universities will be lenient, and make their conditional offers unconditional. They should give the students and their teachers the benefit of the doubts, and not some secrete algorithm IBO is not willing to reveal. Futures of young and bright talents are at stake!
This is the best comment to date – I wish you’d written the article – I wish more media will take it up to fight for justice for these kids. Have you seen the address of Financial Times reporter in comments below – This is a good point to send to them for a follow-up story. We will be contacting more media with this story again today. My daughter is upset today because some of her friends told her to ‘move on’ and ‘accept it’. This is so grossly unfair – how can anyone lie down and accept this – that’s what the law is there for, no?
I will do so, thanks for the advice. 1 thing we all teach our children is to always stand up against injustice. I wish to see more solidarity from students/parents who are more lucky in this situation.
I couldn’t agree with you more! Why should anyone accept this type of injustice without a fight? It’s so difficult to see them suffer like this.
Hi Chené Koscielny,
Thank you for writing this article .. one of the few exposing the IB mess! May I ask for another parent.. which london university was open to listening?
Thank you in advance
Nicole
Sorry Nicole – it wasn’t UCL but my daughter prefers not to reveal the uni at this stage for fear it may have negative consequences for her in future. Good luck to everyone still struggling with this. We didn’t do anything other than the initial letters from her and the IBO coordinator at her school to say that the IB fiasco has happened and that she’d still like to be considered and to come. She was just lucky and they were lenient, I think. The process is grossly unfair, as we know.
Hello everyone, I’m just reading the various messages in this forum and was wondering if there is a legal suite that is taking place against IBO. I’m more than willing to work with all those affected by this scandal and to put my personal money to take legal action against IBO. What is happening is not acceptable.
My son’s first choice in the UK required 36 points with 6 in Maths and 6 in Physics. IBO graded his coursework at 6 and 7 then decided to drop the marks they had just given him by 22% and gave him an overall 5 and 5. So assumed his final exam would have been a 3 at the exam. He’s never been under 5 the whole year. Total : 35. His two best friends whith straight 7s throughout the past 2 years and predicted 42 were given the same grades as him, denied medical school at Imperial and a place at Cambridge. Doesn’t make sense. His first choice Uni rejected him and agreed to reconsider if remarks were successful, however IBO also changed the goalposts with regards to remarking rules. You can find Paula Wilcock, head of assessment at IBO, on LinkedIn. I gave my testimony to Tim Simonite of Wired. If remarking rules are not altered fast, I am considering joining a class action
Thanks for this – and sorry to hear about this! We are also talking about a class action – so please let us know on here or send me a message on info@thingstodoingeneva.ch with whatever info you have – I’d be happy to send it to more parents and to spread the word. Wilcox and Holloway blocked me on LInkedin after I tried to inmail them with a personal appeal.
Please let me know how I also can join the class action. Thanks!
As soon as I have info – will let you know.
My son’s score dropped from pridicted Score of 39 to 34… So he is devastated and very upset… Repeated all the efforts put in by every affected parent or a child himself/herself, without any outcome.. We are hoping that the universities will be considerate and will not reverse the addmissions..
First of all about IBO:
They say only 10% of brain potential is used so far by the humans. I realised after looking at the curriculum of IBO back in 2014, that this is an ideal system to educate a child to improve upon the utilisation of his brain. My child may not be able to go beyond 10%, but he will be certainly on a path on which the coming generations will be better off to be civilized humans…
ON BEING CHEATED:
I believe that IBO has abyssmaly ignored their own philosophy of imparting an holistical education through their extraordinary curriculum: scrutinizing schools and teachers every year to make sure that all the teachers have the ABILITIES to educate and evaluate every student INDIVIDUALLY to make future leaders in their chosen fields.
Now, when the time has come for IBO to show its leadership by trusting its “own scrutinized schools and trained teachers”, it buckled down and taken the help of a software to decide about future and life of young children. It is absolutely narcissistic attitude..
It is quite understandable that some schools might award inflated predicted scores to their students… But my question is what will be the inflation: will these schools predict 42 for a student who deserve 35: Is it really possible? Let us assume that there might be some schools or teachers, then the question is what will be the percentage of such students: may be 15% but not all.
Any sane person will definitely ask a question-Shall we allow our self to destroy the future of 85% students at the cost of 15% students who may have got their scores inflated through some kind of malpractice!!!
Obviously, the emphatic answer will be No ONLY if the “human mind” will be considered for making a judgement.
The most unfortunate thing is that such a reputed organization doubted its own credibility and decided to depend on a software over human mind and spoiled the future of so many youngsters..
This is a good argument! For me the deafening silence in the face of destroying so many young people’s lives is the worst.
Who are these people? Why are they in these jobs? Who are they accountable to? What are the schools doing about this? Why has only one headteacher spoken out so far?
The problems with IBO started years back but this year they had the chance to surface.
My daughter took her diploma 3 years ago but the experiences we’ve been through were horrible.From teachers that had no ideea what they were doing -grading students just by the looks to cheating and some professors from certain countries taking money to turn a blind eye in the exam rooms…
It’s a flawed system that sucked the life out of us not to mention the money.
Well, I can’t comment on this, but I’ve lost all faith in them now. My son is about to start IB and I just can’t see how we can go through this again. It makes a mockery of education and there are no checks and balances – the IBO is a law onto themselves and because they decide who offers the IB Diploma the schools and headteachers are too scared to lose their licence to speak out. They are accountable to no-one it seems. They don’t even have to acknowledge the deluge of complaints their getting, never mind respond.
Meanwhile, we pay their salaries. The IB programme was excellent, but unless the organisational structure changes to ensure total accountability and transparency and the current management is forced out, they have lost all credibility.
This is all soooo unjust.
My daughter dropped 6 marks from her predicted grades. We have asked for 4 subjects to be remarked. We have heard back about her chemistry remark less than 48 hours from request. No change in mark. What did the IB coordinators do ??? put it back into the algorithm?
I have always taught my children to treat people, the way you would like to be treated. Maybe the IB coordinators need to do the same!
She has no university place which should never in a million years be the case. Her safe university bet was never in question.
IB coordinators admit your mistake, be brave and admit it the IB students of 2020 as they deserve justice.
Yes – we also feel they are not doing enough to protect the children. Who is fighting for our children? It seems its left to us! And the in the next round probably lawyers.
They have been failed by the people who are supposed to protect them.
My child is an academic school at one of the larger IB schools in the UK. They were predicted 45, received 40 (the school received half the number of 45s it has averaged in the last five years) but missed their Cambridge Offer which was 42. They are devastated. I think we have to hope that the colleges / universities are lenient as, despite submitting an EUR and paying another £200+ I have absolutely zero confidence in that process. I would be delighted to participate in and help fund some sort of class action.
Nope David – no confidence in the process. None of us are sleeping. This has become a full-time campaign with precious little hope of anything being done at the moment. We are also happy to help fund and be part of a class action. Even if there is a positive outcome for my daughter, which so far clearly there isn’t, I feel that heads should roll.
We are in the same boat as you with UK medical school. In addition to all effort of reapplying, the cost after Brexit will be 5x as high for EU students.
Yes Julie, I know – this has just sickened us.
My daughter was predicted 36 but received 29, meaning she didn’t meet the offer to study veterinary science in the U.K. in her maths for example, she was predicted 5, attained 5, graded 6 in her IA but awarded a 3. Her school has a poor history of results with maths and a student with 7s all through DP, predicted 7 and achieved 7 in their IA has received a 6. Similarly with Dutch and Biology, she’s below her predicted even though her IA exceeded her predicted.
Both her EE and TOK were graded A, she received C’s. In her school, only 1 student achieved more than their predicted grades. Most are 7-10 points down and 10% have failed.
She has contacted her first choice university in the U.K. who have advised that she has to wait for A level results to be published before they will make a decision.
In the meantime, she’s registered for November retakes and will have to go through the application process again.
I’m so disappointed and angry for her, all the studying she did and to be let down by an algorithm because her school traditionally hasn’t done well in the past.
Totally unfair. So many of them facing this. What a horrible summer for all of them after a year when they’ve already been through a lot.
My daughter is going through ups and downs, but can’t think of anything else and has dropped all social plans. It is heartbreaking.
IBO dropped 7 points from predicted to the final IB result for my daughter. This made her lose her conditional admission to Medicine program in Ireland. This is so frustrating and unexpected. In fact the entire batch in her school has dropped 6 to 9 points. On one hand the world is trying to support the 2020 batch by giving speeches and what not and on the other hand we have this unfair attitude of IBO which has unnecessarily penalised the students of 2020 batch. In fact it was expected that marking will be lenient due to the adverse conditions of the pandemic, rather IBO has taken away what my child rightfully deserved. I wish someone can undo this.
Totally unexpected. And yet, I believe the IBO knew exactly that they’d have to sacrifice the top students among others in this process. The cruelest thing to come from an organisation funded by the parents!!
To whomever concerned.
Hi good evening! This is Geetha Ravichandran , from Singapore, a disappointed mother of an IB student who got his result a week before. My son was a student at an international school in Singapore. He was predicted a 45 by his school teachers but ended up being rewarded a 40 by the IB board. He has been an A star student from the beginning of his IB year one. He had gotten 9 A stars in his IGCSE exam too. We are totally disappointed with his results and are not able to come into terms with it. I would like to get a few clarifications from the board on this line.
1. The IA s are only 20 per cent of the final grading. In that case, why do you take that as a major measuring scale?
2. IAs can be outsourced or help can be gotten in doing them. In that case, how can you award grades based on the IAs?
3. Many students would have scored well in their final exams if they had written it. In that case, how can you even award a perfect 45 to any student when the exams were not even conducted. you should have started off with a 43 as the highest score.
4. By bringing the points down by 5 compared to the predicted score do you mean to say you don’t believe in the predicted score given by the school?
5. In that case, it looks like you doubt the quality of the teachers in those schools. If so why do you give license to such schools who don’t have qualified teachers to even guide the students properly?
6. The teachers have known the students for the past two years and have been monitoring their work and performance and have accordingly given their predicted scores. They know better about the students rather than the board, which didn’t t even conduct the exams to test the ability of the students.
7. By penalizing the students randomly the board has played with the future of the students.
As a parent of an affected student and also to represent all the affected students I would like to bring into your consideration to review the results and rectify the damage done to the students who deserve much better grades. Hope you take this seriously and act as quick as possible .
Thank you.
Regards,
Geetha.
Virus-free. http://www.avg.com
HI Geetha – I’m sorry to hear that you are also in this boat. My website is a news site and can only highlight the issues – we can’t do any more. Here is the address of the Director general of the IBO siva.kumari@ibo.org and a Financial Times reporter, Andrew Jack. He is the Global Education Editor. His email is andrew.jack@ft.com. The only way anything will happen seems to be by sheer volume of complaint. It is really devastating stuff.
Please send your email to these two addresses and share this article/blog post as widely as you can on social media. Also sign the petition mentioned in the post.
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I think what we are still missing here is a clearly formulated ask that is delivered to all relevant decision-makers. Is ” Making conditional offers unconditional” as a previous post stated a realistic demand that could be met by Universities? If so – is this message clearly delivered .via IB coordinators? Are all relevant Universities aware of this travesty? I have been in contact with senior academics in the UK and there certainly wasn’t awareness. May I suggest that we all hold our respective IB coordinators accountable to deliver this message to all relevant Universities (i.e. Deans) – providing proof that this has been done?
Agreed – IB coordinators should be delivering the above message – and providing proof that it’s been done.
At least we do not see anything happening at our IB School. Further, the changes in Scotland & A level puts our kids in huge disadvantage. My daughter has been rejected from her medical firm & insurance offers. Not sure – if we can take any collective action.
Most universities have communicated that they will wait until the A-level results are known before making a decision. However, given the bad IB-experience the likelihood is high that the A-level results will be based far more on teacher’s predictions, in which case more A-level students will take up the uni offers first.
The uni on the other hand cannot make offers unconditional now, as the A-levels results then no longer are relevant.
I think the best way forward is keep up the pressure, widely share this injustice, and demand the IBO to make its algorithm transparent, if necessary by legal means. I am sure there are enough parents who would like to jointly fund it.
The future of our children is at stake, so the fight will continue.
The IB needs to release a press statement addressing all universities in which it concedes that these results are unreliable.
This situation is very similar to many students in my class. Over the course of the last 2 years, we have been dedicated to our studies and I made the IB system my top priority. As a student who planned to study medicine, I chose to do my extended essay in Chemistry. When COVID-19 hit Spain and our school shutdown, my entire class was concerned as to how this would affect our exams. For weeks we continued studying as if the exams were still on until they finally announced their cancelation. This was devastating! Since the time I started school, I have never failed any exam in any subject. On Monday, my future was shattered. I was given an A on my EE in Chemistry, but received a 3 in Chemistry HL! In other words, I failed chemistry after having been predicted a 6 on my IA and borderline of 5/6 overall. Not only have we not been able to finish the IB system with our fellow classmates, have a prom or normal graduation, we now are receiving rejection letters from our universities because of an algorithm no member of the public has access to. As of right now, I don’t know a single person in my class who received their predicted grades in Chemistry or Physics. I feel like all of our hard work has gone out the window. Even after appeals and petitions, there has still been no response. Parents, teachers, students and coordinators deserve an explanation for how the IB made their decisions!
Hi Natacha – I’m so sorry to hear your story – please try to contact the English papers in your country – maybe sending them a link to this story to help us spread the word about what the IBO has done to children like you and the impact this is having. You all deserve better and we are all trying to fight for our children and for all the children unfairly affected by this. Here is the address of the Director general of the IBO siva.kumari@ibo.org and a Financial Times reporter, Andrew Jack. He is the Global Education Editor. His email is andrew.jack@ft.com. The only way anything will happen seems to be by sheer volume of complaint.
Please send your email with your story to these two addresses and share this article/blog post above as widely as you can on social media. Also sign the petition mentioned in the post.Good luck!
I am sorry to hear this. Your testimony is very powerful as it is written by a student, the person first and foremost affected by this. Please share it with FT’s Andrew andrew.jack@ft.com and other news outlets. I will share it on twitter, too. We remain hopeful for a good outcome.
I am a parent of a student who got awarded less than he was predicted for his IB. My son goes to the International School of Geneva LGB campus. Our school has been in contact with 40 other schools around the world and is compiling statistics to challenge the IB marking and remarking system. There have been hundreds of remarks requested and there has not been one successful remark!
Parents and students at our school are hoping to get together to hold a demonstration outside the IBO headquarters here in Geneva to raise awareness and increase publicity.
We all need to do as much as we can and not let the IBO get away with denying so many students their university placements because of an algorithm that clearly did not work!
Melissa – please let us know when the demonstration is taking place. We will tell more people about it.
Usually the examiner for maths and science are following a strict markscheme. They are NOT trained or experienced in marking „free text“ like you have in IAs. Therefore, the results for science (chemistry) and maths are a desaster.
Yes Anna – I totally agree.
My son,,, what to tell him after loosing 10 grades going from 37 to 27,, I can prove that he is 37 or more from school records in all years, we live in Egypt our university and colleges recognize score only, you can imagine our loss nearly we lost most colleges we the whole family are shocked until now, his future and his ethics, principles!!!! I can’t find a word to describe what happened. I work as consultant Neurosurgeon, I trusted IBO and I found that I have been deceived if such algorithm applied in surgical practice many patients will die , IBO is not listening to anyone all what can I do right now is to advice students to quit all IB programs to avoid this stupid algorithm, and see how can I go to court to find exactly what was wrong with this algorithm.
Hi Fouad – sorry to hear about yuur son. I so empathise with you – my husband and I and my daugther are not able to sleep. This has become all-consuming for us – trying to get justice for a child who does not deserve this. Please share this post on Facebook and forward to other parents you know to share. Also, contact your local English papers and international paper with your son’s story. We have to keep the pressure on the IBO up. The IB programme was a good programme and I was advocating for it, but the IBO’s senior management has to be fired. The organisation has proven to be insensitive and incompetent. It has made a total joke out of the IB. There is no point doing the IB if the results are a lottery!
Very sorry sorry to hear this Natacha. My daughter’s story is almost exactly the same.
A new Facebook group about this scandal has just been created. Please feel free to comment and share yours ideas and experiences. Let’s hope that by working together and sharing information we can find a solution to this nightmare. Obviously, the IB has no interest at all in serving families or fulfilling their mandate, so we will have to join together to make change.
Our goal is to have the IB change its grades so that they are within one point of predicted grades. There are several other solutions being discussed by families, all of which are better are far superior to the IB’s amateurish, last-minute data modelling fiasco.
International Baccalaureate Grading Scandal 2020
https://www.facebook.com/groups/321661665904349
Esta evaluación no ha sido clarificada que tipo de parámetros aplicaron para la revisión de los proyectos de evaluación interna, no hubo información y no es justo lo que esta pasando necesitamos urgente las evidencias de ese proceso,
Por respeto a nuestros estudiantes y nuestra Comunidad Educativa, esto afecta a la parte emocional y académica.
Lamento mucho esta situación y testimonios de nuestros queridos estudiantes hay que darles el debido acompañamiento para superar esta problemática
QUITO ECUADOR
GRACIAS
what I’m afraid of are the CIES results next month. If they too are scammed, my future is ruined as I study based off on a scholarship at my school, it will be taken away if my grades don’t meet the requirements which are ‘As’ in All sciences. I’ve worked hard, even though my school sent As as mt predicted grades, but I still fear they won’t do fair to science students.
There are a number of areas that need to be looked at.
1. Did your internal IB IA grades come back unchanged or were they altered? Unchanged means you now need to check the school’s predicted grades.
2. The algorithm – from what little we know – is based on IA grades, predicted grades and historical predicted grade correlation between your school and actual results over the last 5 years. If the IA results are as given ( a one or two mark change is not unusual ) then there needs to be a conversation between the school and the parents.
3. This does not excuse the IB in any way. They need to be clear on what they have done and have the independent evidence that states that this was the best and most fair method for calculating grades. If they do not, then heads need to roll and something has to be done.
4. Don’t expect anything to be done.
5. Reports are suggesting that UK grades will also be lower than predicted. This is a world wide problem not just with the IB.
Best of luck with your kids. I hope the universities show understanding and keep the places open.
Thanks for this input – I’m not sure I understand point 2 – can you clarify? Also – everyone is talking about an algorithm, but a TES reporter asked me how we know it was an algorithm and I can’t find any evidence on the IBO site that uses that specific word. The IB coordinators – who must know something – will not say as they are too scared to lose their jobs.
We are in the same situation, my son dropped from 43 to 39 and is devastated due to this ad-hoc evaluation adapted by IB in 2020. As I understand, most of his classmates have dropped also dropped by 4 to 10 points overall than their predicted grades. These students have been toiling for their grades but an opaque IB evaluation system has messed up the university placement of these students. The school IB coordinator has requested for an explanation has been in vain so far.
Sorry Vishwanath – where are you based? I also think we should tell our stories to the local media and keep the pressure up on the IBO.
I am based in Norway. One of the major newspapers “VG” has picked up and published the story.
Yes I saw and Times UK has good story today too. New rules announced by IBO today!!!
Yes Chené. The newspaper story got the attention of politicians here, a consequence is that the Department of Education pursued the issue and has asked IBO to clarify things with regards to the final grades. The IB students here has asked the education department to consider ignoring the IB 2020 results and instead use /mark the predictive grades as final with regards to the university placement in Norway. This is reasonable argument as the IB students are at disadvantage compared to their local counterparts, where in the schools have decided to mark predictive grades as final.
Great – I hope this results in positive results everywhere – predictive grades seem to be the only fair option Thanks for sharing.
A correction: read Department of Education as “Ministry of Education and Research”.
Hello all
I’m sharing same frustration and anger. We are in Geneva and my son also dropped 9 points between PG and actual results. I sent inmails on LinkedIn to both Siva Kumari and Paulo Wilcock, but of course no answer… again just a demonstration of IBO’s lack of care and respect…
I hear the IB schools in Switzerland and uniting to express their complaint, not what will come out of that.
It’s really heartbreaking for all those students that got stolen their pride of a successful finish-line, and are seeing their dreams vanish…
I’ll be happy to support in any way I can. Good luck to all!
I also inmailed them and was promptly blocked. Zero transparency and zero accountability.
Bonjour
Nous sommes également concernés par ce scandale de l’algorithme. Ma fille a les points nécessaires à l’obtention du diplôme mais il lui manque 1 point pour ses Matières HL. Selon le IB coordinateur ses notes sont supérieures à 3 mais grâce à l’algorithme sa note finale est 2…
J’ai personnellement envoyé des emails à l’organisation IB mais la réponse est que tout a été bien fait de manière juste…faux !!!
Nous sommes dégoûtés de ce système de notation opaque et profondément injuste
Oui nous sommes aussi dégoutés!
Hi. We are devastated too after discovering that my son lost his IB diploma because in two HL subjects his grades dropped to 3s! We were shocked and asked for a remark, that arrived two days later, without any change in the grades. We are disgusted!!!!
I am in the same boat. Predicted was a 37 and I dropped to a 32. I am planning to study veterinary medicine in the UK but now my future seems so unsure. I got a 3 in chemistry when I’ve never ever dropped below a 5 and have gotten 6’s in my terms as well. Makes so sense. I hope the uni’s take this into consideration.
My son is at one of the top private schools in the UK – one of the most selective in the UK they only allow the top students to take IB. My son got a 4 in Chemistry – predicted 6 and had NEVER scored a 4. His friend in Germany predicted 40 points got 26 – he tells us ALL his class were downgraded along with most schools in Germany. The UK government body Ofqual is now investigating the IB marking process because it may not comply with UK government rules for this years marking procedure. This may help all of us.
My son was predicted 37 and dropped to 28, including Chemistry HL (his strongest within Mathematics + Sciences subjects) dropping from 6 to… 2!!! yes 2!!! He still managed to keep his 6 in Mathematics, but how can he be awarded a “2” in his strongest Science subject, where he really felt easy and confident? All but in Mathematics subjects’ predictions have been downgraded:
– Spanish: He’s top of his class, predicted 7, coursework graded by IBO 7… and get “6”???
– English: Predicted 6, coursework 7… and get a 5!!! Yes!!!
– Physics HL: Predicted 5, coursework 5… and get a 4!!!
To come back to Chemistry, how is it possible to cut someone by -4pts, from 6 to 2 without any red flag being raised, without any additional qualitative info requested from the teachers to support the prediction? How is it possible to think that a student getting 6 or 2 are anywhere close and could be down to an over-optimistic teacher?
PS: My son is from small cohort school (4 to 8 per class) and both Chemistry and Physics teachers changed last year… so historical stats are twice irrelevant (different population & different teacher)!!! This big data-led world is becoming a machine to crush individuals. While normal distribution can describe population, no individual from the population is “normal”…
Bonsoir,
mon fils n’a pas eu son diplôme car il a perdu au moins 5 points. Il est dans une petite école à Lausanne, donc comme certains articles l’ont montré, les petites écoles sont encore plus défavorisées.
NOus devons exiger de connaître exactement la manière dont les points ont été calculés. Le plus juste aurait été de tenir compte des notes de l’année pour une partie, (sachant que la plupart des élèves n’ont plus eu de cours présentiel depuis le mois de mars). Le deuxième critére étant les mémoires )sachant que là aussi les dates de remise ont été changées). En aucun cas un algorythme ne peut corriger quoi que ce soit ou intervenir dans ces notes. Nous parlons de jeunes qui sont tous des êtres uniques, et il n’est pas question de les comparer à des statistiques des années précédentes.
J’habite à Genève, et suis prête à venir signer une autre lettre si nécessaire, et à demander une explication du bureau de l’IB
HI Veronique- Je pense aussi que ca vaut la peine de contacter les journaux Suisse- comme Geneve Tribune ou Le Temps, parce.que le bureau de l’IBO est a Geneve et ilya un grand nombre d’etudiantes affectees par cette crise, main mon Francais ne suffit pas! Tell your story! Il faut continuer a lutter et monter la pression.
oui je vais commencer à avertir les journaux, ils peuvent regarder ce qui se passe sur les réseaux sociaux.
Pour l’alogorythme comment peut on en avoir la preuve ? Rien ne figure sur le site de l’IBO ?
Mon fils est dans une petite école donc aucune chance car elle n’a pas de poids.
Véronique
Has anyone yet used the new ‘non tolerance ‘ remark systems and been upgraded
Not that I’m aware of in our schools – other appeals have worked at some universities with lower requirements who are more lenient. We are still in the same position.
We appealed and the results came back in less that 48 hours. Apparently they usually take at least 2 weeks! There was no change to grade nor marks within the grade. If they are using an algorithm, then surely the results will always remain the same?!
I suspect most uni’s will wait till A Level results. My son has been told that the university will only made a decision then. He is one grade off which translates to 2 marks on his IA but wanted to know how successful the new non Tolerance appeals would be . IB Stated this
The IB is removing the principle of a “tolerance” for small increases in the EUR marks. This means that if the EUR indicates a one or two marks increase in the coursework, we will recalculate an overall grade accordingly. We will continue to protect the student from small decreases in marks through the EUR process, in line with the previous policy. Therefore, if the EUR indicates a drop of one or two marks in the coursework, we will retain the original mark and overall grade.
My daughter is was predicted a 44 and got a 40 and has not therefore met her offer at one of the most prestigious universities in the UK . She has always worked hard , got mostly 7s throughout the 2 years and is devastated . Her EE predicted an A has been awarded a D which is the hardest to understand even for her teachers. She has studied in a small school in India and we have been disadvantaged by the algorithm using the performance of her predecessors in this school.We are awaiting EURs but wonder if they are just going through the motions without actually doing anything a about it . If A levels use just predicted grades to award final grades , then there will no places left for our children at University. Our demand should be that the universities use the same method of evaluation across all boards and make the offers unconditional. The IB / education regulators should contact the universities and explain the situation to them , so that they are aware of the fiasco before making their final decisions.
Sujata – this is very familiar and very unfair. It remains to be seen if the so-called new appeals process will help them. We are devastated and furious.
I have a rising senior and looking with horror at this years IB results and the young
students in unfortunate situations. For those wishing to go to UK universities – please please go into clearing right now (it started on the 6th). Many top grade universities like have places to fill up. Having the IB results earlier gives the students slight advantage in this case. I will not work for medical students, but for any other subject – there’s a place! And in good universities too. Please do not automatically assume the child has to start next year. Clearance is an immediate way of getting in a University. Shop around, aim high, and possibilities are you will get in! UCAS Clearance section has more details. All the best.
Has anybody received a remark under new non tolerance system
Hello,
Mon fils vient de m’envoyer un courrier de l’IB de trois pages qui explique comment les calculs ont été faits.
On peut faire recours mais ils refusent de modifier leur méthode.
Regarder sur le site richardjamesrogers.com la Norvège a envoyé le 20 juillet un lettre au BI demandant des explications sur 7 points par rapport à l’algorythme utlisé.
Je suis à Genève, si quelqu’un peut obtenir un rendez-vous avec le bureau basé ici, ou me dire comment obtenir ce rendez-vous je suis partante. Il faut continuer à nous battre. Mon fils aurait eu 2 à son travail interne de math alors que son directeur a revérifié et confirmé que pour lui on devait être à 4 environ.
Véronique
I have just seen the letter IB sent to the UK universities. They state that they did not use a computer based algorithm but “an IB awarding model”.
We have bombarded IB with complaints through their complaints process. It is very frustrating. They only send standard responses. Is anyone planning a class action?
Hi Heidi, thanks for sharing this. Is there any link where we can see the letter IB sent to the UK universities?
Hi,
I’m also a student who experienced a drop of 8 points, from 42 to 34. Yeah, 34 seems decent still, but those scores drops were mostly occured in my HL subjects. Guess what happened? I couldn’t meet my UK universities offer conditions, even the insurance choice’s. I emailed to my uni, but they simply said I can’t even be added to their reserve applicant list, because of missing HL subject specific conditions.
I’m still not sure whether I should retake November exam to get into my dream university, or just do Clearing instead to be “satisfied” with one of those universities that I hadn’t even given a look when I was submitting my 2020 UCAS application.
Seriously, everytime I think about my released results and “application unsuccessful” status shown on the UCAS portal, I just wonder “Is there a still possibility for me to become a person that I always wanted to become?”. Whenever I open various universities’ website to check if I meet their Clearing requirements, I feel like my hearts are being torn down. I was once given an offer for the UK’s best university (or second-best university, depending on your personal preference for Cambridge over Oxford), how have I became an “online begger” desperately looking for a place in common-level universities?
I’m not sure your daughter, Paula, has recovered even a bit from the mental damage originated from the IB’s tyranny, but I just hope a miracle will occur and she’ll get what she’s deserved reinstated soon.
We, as a parent, are dismayed by the lack of response, unprofessional high handedness of IB in respect of students of the May 2020 cohort. These students find their university admissions and childhood aspirations being shredded because of the incompetence and apathy of IB. The low grades awarded to my daughter is much lesser to her Predicted Grades as well as the Internal Assessments marked directly by external IB assigned teachers. The School is at loss to explain this. Based on the adjusted marks she will miss her medicine offer from UK Schools. Her requests for review in subjects came back with no “changes” and almost immediately.
We have not seen any step from the IB/ IB Schools so far despite communication from the IB on anomalies in grade award (https://www.ibo.org/news/news-about-the-ib/awarding-may-2020-results-further-information/).
We have also not heard back from the Universities who appear to be waiting for A level results. Not sure – if there is a common platform which is taking up with the UK Universities on behalf of the effected IB students.
Norway has sent a letter to the ibo – herewith
Hope it works for all of us
advance-notification-of-order-to-rectify-unfairly-processed-and-incorrect-personal-data.pdf
In Scotland they have back tracked and will take school’s assessment rather than the awarded grade. In the UK they have just announced that A level results will not be lower then the Mock Exam results. IB students, wishing to study in the UK, are now at a significant disadvantage. My son’s results were 4 points below his predicted results, all the point reductions in his HL subjects, Maths, Physics and Chemistry, he therefore did not meet the requirements to Study Engineering.
Hello everyone, I’m just reading the various messages in this forum and was wondering if there is a legal suite that is taking place against IBO. I’m more than willing to work with all those affected by this scandal and to put my personal money to take legal action against IBO. What is happening is not acceptable.
I agree and will be with you.
Tenga consideración c los estudiantes y tomen en cuenta todo
Given the all injustice to our kids – is there a platform which is trying to (1) communicate and do a common appeal to academic regulators in UK to advise universities to not to reject offers given to IB students (2) Explore l egalitarian options.
This is incredibly unfair!
Any advice on the u turn on A level results in the UK using teacher predicted grades, while the IB is still using the algorithm and Teacher Assessments? How do I start a lawsuit against them and gather like minded IB parents who want the IBO to take action? They seem ungoverned – Ofqual manages the UK system – who managers the IBO who has ruined my sons future?
Con un cordial saludo, opino que la IBO acaba de generar problemas psicológicos a la generación que le ha tocado ser evaluada en tiempos de pandemia. Esperamos que desde la “prestigiosa” IBO sean capaces de reflexionar y revisar nuevamente el proceso de evaluación en pro del bienestar de los esforzados jóvenes.
What truly saddens me beyond the 1000’s of personal family shambles this situation has caused is that the IBO had a golden opportunity to be the heroes for IB students of 2020 and visibly demonstrate– for the world to see – the values they claim to stand for (caring, principled, communicators, open minded, thinkers, balanced, reflective, inquirers, knowledgeable, risk takers). The world so needs these values!
Yet when the IBO were tested by this situation they have grossly failed at every turn – deafening long silences, supremely defensive and distant, shockingly slow to react, refusal to apologise for distress, no visible sign of learning (IBO endorsed a complex appeal process on top of a flawed – maybe illegal – model and then created a new model – possibly still breaking GDPR rules – whilst no one knows where the appeal process even is).
Fundamentally the IBO has allowed 1000’s of students in limbo, anxiety and now discrimination versus A levels in the UK for nearly 50 days. Whilst other governments and awarding bodies have found the fairest and most pragmatic solutions within the circumstances super fast ( within days) to genuinely help their students progress, the IB have steadfastly -so far – stayed with their model despite all the howls of continuing unfairness for 6 weeks.
If your child is in an IB program or you plan for your child to do IB, you have been warned.
Hi
Very pleased to hear about your daughter’s success. Could you please confirm whether the medical school that offered her was UCL? My son also had an offer. He does not need additional points as he has 42 overall and 19 HL, but marginally short of 6 in Chemistry. He has been pleading UCL to reconsider with no luck so far. Thanks Sunil
Not UCL – we’ve heard several reports about how inflexible UCL is. Sorry to hear this and good luck to your son.
Hi! I am currently in a battle with Leeds University to consider my centre assessed grades rather than those awarded by the IBO. I am having to threaten legal action. Would you be able to forward to me any correspondence you had with UCL which shows them allowing your daughter in on predicted/teacher/centre assessed grades as this would help to demonstrate a sector standard? Many thanks.
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