IB Examiners?

[greaterthaninfinity]

I've wondered this for the longest time. Is there something like an IBO marking headquarters where all the IBO examiners congregate to mark the papers? I have a feeling my IB coordinator is exaggerating because he claims that all the exams that we write, after being written, are immediately sent off to the IBO office in Geneva. That sounds like a huge stretch to me (and seems really surreal too!), so I'm just asking, out of curiosity, where do our exams get sent off anyway?

Also, does anyone know where they get all those examiners anyway? Do they just hire examiners for the marking session or are the examiners actual IB teachers who get sent the IB papers to mark? I've heard that there are something like 700 000 IB students around the world. That's the size of a small country. So, the idea of them being able to mark all those exams (700 000 * 15, since there are 2 papers for the SLs and 3 papers for the HLs, I think) in addition to moderating all the IAs and CAS hours, marking the TOK paper, and the extended essay has baffled me. Does anyone care to enlighten me on the oh-so-secretive inner workings of the IBO?

Edited March 21, 2009 by greaterthaninfinity

[SushiMonstar]

I think examiners are teacher themselves^^. My English teacher is one actually; or at least that's what she told me.

[LinuxBeta]

I don't know how much stuff actually goes in to Geneva. My co-ordinator/english teacher was telling us where our EEs were being mailed off, and none of them were to Geneva. What happened was that all the EEs from our school for a certain subject get sent off to one examiner's house, and they had to arrive the Monday that just passed. EEs are special, since they have to go to two examiners for marking. It's quite interesting actually. My EE was mailed off to Florida, while my friends' was mailed off to somewhere in the UK. The majority of EEs/WL papers/TOK essays are usually mailed somewhere close to home, while the exams go to pretty much anywhere.

In short, no the papers do not all go to Geneva, and no, there is no army of IB examiners in one place marking essays. They are usually teachers from all over the world, marking papers of students they've never met, and whom they will probably never see. In the end, we are just a number to them.

[Abu]

No papers go to Geneva for initial marking. Upon completion of the exams, the papers are sealed in a courier envelope and immediately despatched by courier to the examiner's house, school or wherever the examiner chooses to park themselves. The same applies to IAs and EEs. I do believe that the chief examiners sit in Cardiff, and that's where the papers are sent for final checking. The paper archive where old exams are kept is also at Cardiff.

[greaterthaninfinity]

So, how do they decide exactly WHICH examiner's house to mail it to? It seems so mystical.

And wow, there's an archive of old exams? I wonder how far they go back? Haha, I'd like to visit these places when I'm older and exclaim, "WOW, I WROTE THAT?"

[biochem]

I was told the exams are made 4 years in advance and sealed in a vault. at any given time, only 4 people in the world know the content of the exam. This is because internationally, the scholarship money is an astronomical figure and needs security parameters in order to be upheld.

The individual Ia's and papers are sent to the people actually. My spanish teacher will be/ or is a grader. its 10$ per tape that IB pays the teachers to listen to it. For the IA oral that is. Dont know the rest.

[greaterthaninfinity]

Whoa, where did you hear this? I swear, whenever I wonder about the inner workings of IBO, I start slapping myself to stop myself from thinking conspiracy theorist thoughts. FOUR years in advance and only FOUR people in the world at any given time know the contents of the exam. Ah, honestly - I can't help it. All the conspiracy theories popping into my head!

So, I guess my teachers were wrong when they said they "don't get paid extra to teach the IB programme". Some of them HAVE to be IB examiners. [shifty eyes]

[Ruan Chun Xian]

As for how they decide which, well, there's probably a system, but your papers/IAs never get sent to an examiner in the same continent, and preferably one that is not of the same nationality as you, to cut the chance of you knowing them.

You do have to be trained to be IB Examiner. Several of my teachers in IB were examiners: my History teacher used to get EEs from the US, my TOK teachers marked WL, the ITGS teacher at my school was also an examiner. My history teacher used to tell us amusing stories about all the EEs he was marking in class (we never talked about history in class) and my friend was the TOK teacher's daughter so she tells us about the paper he mum was marking .

Of course they keep archive of the old papers, especially for enquiry upon results or if you want it back (for a fee obviously). But after a few years they get destroyed. Actually the return address for the courier package of IA/EE/exam papers is not the school where it came from but Cardiff, so if for some reason it doesn't reach the intended examiner, it gets sent to Cardiff, where it gets sent around again.

[Vvi]

And when the examiners get the papers, they have a time limit within which they have to finish marking. They get sent a stack of around 200 papers and have around 1 week to mark them. When they're under that much pressure to finish quickly, some of them might not read through all of the answers carefully, which is why people end up asking for EuR's.

And yes, examiners do get paid quite a bit to mark papers. My Economics teacher has 3 jobs; he's a teacher, a tour guide and an examiner. Apparently our school pays **** wages so he makes his money in other ways.

My EE is being marked in the States and my friend's EE is in Australia right now. I think they select EE examiners randomly, as we are told that they won't always be teachers for the subject that our EE is submitted in.

[deissi]

I've wondered this for the longest time. Is there something like an IBO marking headquarters where all the IBO examiners congregate to mark the papers? I have a feeling my IB coordinator is exaggerating because he claims that all the exams that we write, after being written, are immediately sent off to the IBO office in Geneva. That sounds like a huge stretch to me (and seems really surreal too!), so I'm just asking, out of curiosity, where do our exams get sent off anyway?

Externally assessed papers are always sent directly to examiners, who can live anywhere in the world. No actual marking is done in IB Cardiff, which is the IB curriculum centre. Geneva is only where the big shots work, pretty much everything is actually done in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.

They hire examiners through their website. Most examiners are teachers, but principal examiners are never teachers, but more commonly university professors and such.

[biochem]

Whoa, where did you hear this? I swear, whenever I wonder about the inner workings of IBO, I start slapping myself to stop myself from thinking conspiracy theorist thoughts. FOUR years in advance and only FOUR people in the world at any given time know the contents of the exam. Ah, honestly - I can't help it. All the conspiracy theories popping into my head!

So, I guess my teachers were wrong when they said they "don't get paid extra to teach the IB programme". Some of them HAVE to be IB examiners. [shifty eyes]

My teacher who has taught in Spain, France and now the States. She is going to become a IB Coordinator, and is currently one of the examiners for the spanish/French exams.

She is actually very astonished that some of the tapes were blank O_O she keeps on saying u must always record it, and she checks twice.

[Vvi]

She is actually very astonished that some of the tapes were blank O_O she keeps on saying u must always record it, and she checks twice.

People send in blank tapes? How dumb are they? Don't they check to see if it recorded, our school always does. You pay to send it halfway across the world and then get a 0 on it (I'm assuming that's what happens, since the IB wouldn't give you a "pity" grade if your teachers were dumb enough not to record it).

[biochem]

People send in blank tapes? How dumb are they? Don't they check to see if it recorded, our school always does. You pay to send it halfway across the world and then get a 0 on it (I'm assuming that's what happens, since the IB wouldn't give you a "pity" grade if your teachers were dumb enough not to record it).

Yup. actually two of them were blanked and scored a zero. I mean what else could they do? All they can say is there is nothing on the tapes, but IB would not ever go back and ask for copies. What a waste of time on their part. It's the teachers fault. MY teacher has actually conducted several orals where the person had a meltdown, cussed for 15 minutes, or the tape came up blank. All had to be re-done.

[deissi]

biochem: The stuff you said about making exams is on the right track, but a bit grandiose . They get done about two years beforehand and there are several people involved in the process of making an exam. I suggest you read Diploma Programme Assessment Principles and Practices if you want to know the details. I've attached it here for you:

IB_Assessment_Guide.pdf

[biochem]

biochem: The stuff you said about making exams is on the right track, but a bit grandiose . They get done about two years beforehand and there are several people involved in the process of making an exam. I suggest you read Diploma Programme Assessment Principles and Practices if you want to know the details. I've attached it here for you:

Thank you so much for clarification. I was told this by my teacher who went to IB Coordinator training. Just reporting what I have been told, but as I have learned, not all of it is true

[IBEXPERT]

Dear all

 

1. The global assessment centre is in Cardiff.

 

2. You exams are sent to London.

 

3. There they are scanned

 

4. They are then randomly distributed via a software package to experienced IB teachers around the world to mark

 

5. Examiners have utterly no idea who they are marking or which school the answer came from (it just has a long number). This is avoid any type of prejudice all together.

 

6. All examiner must pass strict qualifying scripts every year. If they fail, they are not allowed to mark

 

7. All examiner must pass "seeded" papers which are marked by Cheif Examiner and Senior Examiners. They are unkown to examiners and can appear any time. This really scares examiner because if you fail seeds, you get kicked out of marking.

 

8. Therefore, it is the stricest organization to mark for, due to this "online" software system.

 

9. Yes the CE and SEs meet in Cardiff after the exam is taken to review papers and mark the seeds. This is called a standardization meeting.

 

I hope this builds confidence into IB studnets to know the huge efforts made to ensure marking integrity.

 

Regards,

 

IBEXPERT

[ibprincess]

firstly, not to discourage you but this post is from 2009 and the OP has long ago completed ib so this information is not too relevant to them anymore

 

2. You exams are sent to London.

 

 

 This point depends on where you're school is located. I'm in australia so my papers will be sent to the office in sydney, you being in the UK will have your papers sent to London. (just to clarify for people who may look at this post)

[OMGIBISFUN]

And yes, examiners do get paid quite a bit to mark papers. My Economics teacher has 3 jobs; he's a teacher, a tour guide and an examiner. Apparently our school pays **** wages so he makes his money in other ways.

 

Oh I've heard otherwise. 

 

There were some examiners at my school, and from what I confidentially heard, they are placed under strict guidelines and expectations. The corresponding pay compared to the effort required in marking is nowhere equivalent to the level of received. They are required to mark extraordinary amounts of papers, which results in inaccurate marking and consequent enquiries. 

 

I urge all readers to do some primitive research into the extent of their IB fees (Registration, examination, enquiry etc.) that are charged. Now I'm sure none of you can honestly state that the price you pay corresponds to the value you receive from your diploma. Yes, the IBDP opens a lot of doors and is excellent in its education. but the IBO is a commercial organisation. (Non-profit or not). Just look at the IB store, it's not exactly as if the preparatory material for exams is provided for free.