IB INTERNAL ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK: HELPFUL SUPPORT WITHOUT TAKING AUTHORSHIP
Effective feedback makes the next student decision better. It does not convert a student’s investigation into the teacher’s work. Departments need a shared boundary for questioning, criteria discussion, drafts, annotations and authentication, grounded in the current subject guide and school policy.
Feedback should point to criteria and choices
A useful comment identifies the feature of the current work, connects it to the assessment expectation and prompts a student decision. ‘Improve evaluation’ is vague. ‘Your conclusion states the result but does not evaluate the model’s limitations; identify which assumption most affects the interpretation’ gives a direction without writing the evaluation.
Teachers should use the current subject guide and authorized school resources for exact rules about drafts and feedback. A generic cross-subject rule can be wrong because components differ. The shared principle is that the final work must remain the student’s own and the teacher must be able to authenticate it under the applicable process.
| Teacher action | Usually supports learning | Risk to manage |
|---|---|---|
| Ask the student to explain a choice | Makes reasoning and ownership visible | Do not supply the preferred choice |
| Refer to a criterion or descriptor | Focuses attention on the assessment standard | Do not turn the descriptor into a sentence template |
| Identify an unclear passage | Shows where communication failed | Do not rewrite the passage for the student |
| Model a different, unrelated example | Teaches a transferable process | Avoid creating a near-copy of the student’s task |
| Use a checklist | Supports self-review and completeness | Avoid guaranteeing marks or replacing judgment |
Standardize the marking, not the student voice
Department standardization should focus on how teachers interpret evidence against criteria. Select anonymized samples, mark independently and compare criterion-level reasoning. When judgments differ, identify which words or features of the evidence drove the decision and record the agreed interpretation.
Do not standardize by giving every student the same structure or phrasing. That can narrow inquiry and make authentic decision-making less visible. Common milestones and process checks can coexist with distinct research questions, methods and arguments.
1. Select
Choose samples that expose real borderline judgments across criteria.
2. Mark independently
Prevent early consensus from hiding genuine differences.
3. Compare reasoning
Discuss the evidence and descriptor, not only the mark.
4. Record calibration
Write a short department note with examples of the agreed interpretation.
5. Apply and review
Use the calibration consistently and revisit it with new evidence or guidance.
Create an authentication-friendly process
Process evidence can include dated planning, source notes, data decisions, teacher-student conferences and version history where school policy permits. The purpose is educational first: students reflect on how the work developed. It also makes it easier for a teacher to discuss unusual changes or uncertainty about authorship.
When authenticity is in doubt, follow current school and IB procedures rather than improvising an accusation. Ask the student to explain sources, methods and decisions. Automated detection output is not a substitute for a fair process or professional judgment.
- Teach citation and source evaluation before the first major draft.
- Schedule short conferences around decisions, not only finished text.
- Keep feedback focused and attributable so the support history is clear.
- Ask students to explain changes between versions in their own words.
- Escalate concerns through the school’s defined academic integrity process.
- Reflect after moderation on marking calibration, not on rewriting student work.
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References
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