DP development plan · Led by Anna Vester · September 2026 to June 2028
Consistent marking: can predicted grades become a guide students can trust?
Follows the IB's part order for programme development.
Focus
How might we make internal marking consistent across subjects, so predicted grades become a guide students can trust?
Rationale
Serves the school priority: The same work gets the same grade, whoever marks it, in MYP and DP.
- At the last comparison (11 Jul 2026), 15 of 22 predicted grades were within one grade of the final result. Biology was 9 of 12; History was 6 of 10.
- Predictions sat high where the internal assessment was still a draft. In History, the essay mark and the predicted grade used different ideas of analysis.
- The same criterion gets different marks in different rooms. Who agrees the standard has been an open question since 12 May 2026.
Planning: practices
| Question | Practice | Category | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| What must be in place? | Assessment is run consistently and fairly | Learning: approaches to assessment | 0404-03 to check |
| Who is responsible? | Leadership and teachers take part in timely professional learning | Environment: teacher support | 0203-02 to check |
| How will the work be done? | Students and teachers use feedback to support stated outcomes | Learning: approaches to assessment | 0404-01-0100 to check |
| Why this focus? | To choose | Purpose |
Impact
For every DP student: predicted grades they can plan around. The measure: share of predicted grades within one grade of the final result.
| Reading | Date | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 11 Jul 2026 | 68% (15 of 22) |
| Mocks against predictions | Feb 2027 | to record |
| Results against predictions | Jul 2027 | to record |
| Target | May 2028 | 80% |
Data and evidence
- The measure readings above.
- After the December cycle: the share of moderated samples within one band, per subject group.
- Before each report round: whether every predicted grade was compared in a group of three subjects.
Research and shared practice
- Harlen (2004), EPPI-Centre review of teachers' summative assessment: moderation through professional collaboration helps; reliable assessment needs time for teachers to meet.
- Garry, McCool and O'Neill (2005), on anchoring in marking: a marker who has seen the first mark moves less than two independent markers. Hence "mark blind first, talk second".
- What it can't say: one cycle won't prove scripts land within one band at Harbour.
Activities: who, what, by when
| Action | Lead (shares) | When | From decision | How we'll know | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publish the internal assessment calendar draft | Anna Vester | 2 days late | Anna owns the IA calendar; subject leaders flag clashes by Wednesday. | No week holds more than two major IA deadlines | Overdue |
| One joint MYP 5–DP 1 standardisation cycle in every subject group | Marco Ellison (Anna Vester) | 11 Nov to 15 Dec 2026 | Waits on the open decision: who agrees the standard across programmes (Jonas Berg) | Each subject group has one moderated sample | Waiting on Jonas |
| TOK exhibition internal standardisation | Anna Vester | By 1 Mar 2027 | TOK exhibitions are standardised internally on one shared student example. | Teachers mark the shared example within one band | Moving |
| Predicted grade conversations | Helen Okonkwo | 12 Jan to 1 Apr 2027 | Predicted grades are compared across three subjects before reports go out. | Every predicted grade compared in a group of three before reports | Not started |
Reflection, from the record
- Standardise one TOK exhibition example together (Mar 2026): Partly worked Two of three teachers now mark the example within one band.
- Retire the old predicted-grade spreadsheet (Sep 2026): Didn't work Two departments still sent the old sheet in the spring round. Decided again: Predicted grades are compared across three subjects before reports go out.
Analysis and examples of impact
- Baseline, 11 Jul 2026: 68% (15 of 22).
- Checked decisions so far: 1 partly worked, 1 didn't work.
Understanding and application
Written at the end of the plan, in June 2028.