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2025 Extended Essay

Norming Session

for Supervisors

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hello!

I’m Betsy Snow

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Action items for this session:

  • EE Timeline for remainder of year
  • Mark Bands v. Rubric Score
  • Norming: Read essay Q, Z, and and predict a mark band/score
  • View actual EE score
  • Discuss
  • Review Checklist to help current students earn points
  • If time: Find an EE sample from your subject area and repeat
  • Look at your student from last year

Where are the gaps?

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Why?

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To establish or judge in reference to a norm: normed the test on the basis of last year's results

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For the past few years Sequoia Teachers have marked Extended Essays (EE) more generously than the IB board.

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EE 2024

Subject area GRADES

at a glance:

A

B

C

D

E

2

8

22

16

0!

Overall grade distribution:

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When you predict your final assessment you will use Grade Bands

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*Everyone likes to know this information, but IB discourages sharing, due to frequency of change.

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This year we are writing in:

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Business Management

Dance

English

Environmental Systems & Societies

History

Mathematics

Music

Psychology

Biology

Visual Arts

Film

Looking Ahead:

These are the breakout rooms you will join today

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Scoring Criteria

A: Focus & Method

Is the essay focused on a question? What sources/approach did your student use?

B: Knowledge & Understanding

Extent to which research relates to subject area. How is knowledge conveyed through use of terminology and concepts.

C: Critical thinking

Has research been analyzed and evaluated? Can you point to examples where student has made explicit connection?

D: Presentation

The structure of the essay clearly is appropriate in terms of the expected conventions for the topic, the argument and subject in which the essay is registered. The structure and layout support the reading, understanding and evaluation of the extended essay.

E: Engagement

Assesses the student’s engagement with their research focus and the research process. It will be applied by the examiner at the end of the assessment of the essay, and is based solely on the candidate’s reflections as detailed on the RPPF, with the supervisory comments and extended essay itself as context. Only the first 500 words are assessable.

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Q

Z

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2019 Subject areas at a glance...

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How does the subject specific rubric guide your supervision?

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Step 1: Read essay Q.

Step 2: Read the essay without looking at the marks ( a challenge!)

Step 3: What grade would you predict for this paper?

Step 4: Repeated for Essay Z and *.

Step 5: Discuss as group

How do your marks differ from the actual score?

Step 6: Challenge of Consensus

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Where can students earn more points?

Find one or two areas where you can advise your student to improve.

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How does this translate into guidance for the full draft you received yesterday from your current student?

You should have received a full EE draft 10/12

Comments due by 10/19

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In reality...

Example

Say

Be sure each paragraph connects the source back to the research question.

Where is your source , and

how did the source change your understanding of your RQ?

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Students received this document:

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