IB Internal Assessments (IAs): A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents
- Joseph RB
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
If your child is in the IB Diploma Programme, the term "Internal Assessment" — or simply "IA" — will become a fixture of your household's vocabulary over the next two years. The IA generates more parental anxiety than almost any other Diploma element — partly because it sits outside the familiar structure of exams and revision, and partly because the rules about parental involvement are unclear to most families.
This article explains what an IA is, how it is marked, its weight in the overall grade, the typical timeline, and how parents can support meaningfully without crossing the academic integrity line. As an IBO IA moderator, the guidance here reflects actual practice, not theory.
What an Internal Assessment Actually Is
An Internal Assessment is a piece of work completed by the student during the Diploma course, assessed first by the student's own teacher, and then moderated or marked externally by the IBO. Unlike final exams, the IA is produced over weeks or months, in the student's own time, under the general supervision of their subject teacher.
Every IB Diploma subject includes an IA component, though the format varies by subject: Maths students write a mathematical exploration; Science students produce an investigation report; History students write a historical investigation; English students complete a literary commentary. Each subject guide specifies the format in detail.
The IA is an opportunity to pursue a topic of genuine interest within a subject, working with more independence than an exam allows. In practice, this independence is one of its greatest challenges — students who thrive in structured lessons sometimes struggle with the open-endedness of IA work.
How IAs Are Marked
Every IA is marked against a published set of assessment criteria specific to the subject. Whilst they vary, most subjects assess: focus and research question, knowledge and understanding, analysis, evaluation or reflection, and presentation.
In Maths specifically, criteria include *Mathematical Communication*, *Personal Engagement*, *Reflection*, and *Use of Mathematics*. The last criterion specifies that the mathematics must be "commensurate with the level of the course" — a common source of lost marks when students use only basic techniques.
The teacher assigns marks to each criterion; these are checked by the IBO through moderation. A sample of the school's IA work is sent to an IBO moderator, who adjusts the school's marking if it falls outside the expected range.
The Weight of the IA in the Overall Grade
The IA contributes substantially to the final Diploma grade. Across most subject groups, the weighting sits between 20% and 25% of the subject total — around 20% for Maths and Sciences, up to 25–30% for some Language and Humanities components.
A student who performs strongly in examinations but submits a weak IA may find it pulls their final grade below what their exam marks would otherwise achieve. Conversely, a well-executed IA provides a cushion if exam performance is slightly below expectations.
Importantly, the IA grade is confirmed before the final exam. In most subjects, teacher marks are submitted in spring of Year 13 — meaning the IA is settled before students sit their final papers.
The Typical IA Timeline
The timeline varies by school, but the following represents the pattern at most IB schools:
Year 12 (Lower Sixth or equivalent)
Terms 1–2: Subject guides are introduced; teachers explain IA requirements. Students begin thinking about a topic or research question.
Terms 2–3: Draft research questions are proposed; Science students may begin experimental work.
End of Year 12: First full drafts may be due. Teachers provide one round of formal written feedback.
Year 13 (Upper Sixth or equivalent)
Term 1: Revised drafts are refined. Many schools have internal deadlines in October or November.
Term 2 (January–February): Final submissions to the teacher; teacher marks are applied.
March–April: Teacher marks and a sample of work are submitted to the IBO for moderation.
May: Final examinations; the IA grade is already determined.
The IA is not a last-minute project. Students who treat it as a Christmas-holiday task in Year 13 are already significantly behind.
How Parents Can Support — Without Doing the Work
This is the question most parents have, and it is a reasonable one. Parents naturally want to help. The IBO's academic integrity policy is clear, but it is nuanced.
What parents may legitimately do:
Encourage time management and support the student in meeting school-set deadlines.
Discuss the topic area in general terms — asking "what are you investigating and why?" is entirely appropriate.
Proofread for spelling and grammar *only*. This is surface-level editing, not substantive revision.
Support their wellbeing — adequate rest and time away from the desk is a form of genuine support.
What parents must not do:
Write any portion of the IA, including drafting sentences or restructuring arguments.
Conduct research on the student's behalf.
Provide detailed feedback on academic content, structure, or argument — this is the teacher's role.
Commission or pay for IA-writing services. This constitutes academic malpractice and can result in the Diploma being withheld.
If your child needs content support for their IA, a subject-specialist tutor can provide guidance that stays within the academic integrity framework. Book a free consultation with Sophyra Tutors to discuss IA support.
Academic Integrity: The Rules and the Risks
The IBO's Academic Integrity Policy distinguishes between *support* and *collusion*. Collusion — where another person contributes substantially to the intellectual content — constitutes malpractice. The consequences are serious: the student's subject grade, and in some cases the entire Diploma, may be withheld.
Schools use Turnitin and similar tools, but the primary mechanism for detecting inappropriate assistance is the teacher's knowledge of the student's work over time. An IA markedly more sophisticated than classroom performance raises questions that moderators take seriously.
The guidance for subject tutors mirrors this framework. A tutor working with an IB student on their IA may:
Help the student understand the assessment criteria
Discuss the relevant subject content and concepts
Review a draft and note where the criteria are not being met
Help the student understand how to improve their own work
A tutor may not write, rewrite, or substantially restructure the student's work. At Sophyra Tutors, our tutors — many of whom are IBO examiners and moderators — work within these boundaries as a professional standard. For more on how 1:1 support is structured to benefit the student genuinely, see our article on the 1:1 advantage in focused tuition.
Common IA Mistakes That Lose Easy Marks
As an IA moderator, I see the same errors repeatedly. Most are avoidable with early awareness.
Scope too broad: a question like "How does temperature affect enzyme activity?" replicates textbook knowledge. Low marks follow for Personal Engagement and Reflection. A narrower, genuinely investigative question earns significantly more.
Exceeding the word or page limit: the IBO instructs moderators to stop reading at the limit. Content beyond it receives no marks.
Insufficient reflection: students describe what they did and found, but omit reflection on limitations, data reliability, or alternative explanations. Reflection is a separate criterion that must be addressed explicitly.
Using mathematics below the course level (Maths IA): using only basic arithmetic or statistics in a Maths AA or AI IA typically earns a low Use of Mathematics score. The exploration must demonstrate mathematical thinking at the level of the course.
Missing or inconsistent citations: the IBO requires proper academic citation throughout. Inconsistent referencing is penalised in most subjects.
Leaving feedback unaddressed: when a teacher provides written feedback on a draft, students who simply re-read the draft without acting on the feedback miss the only formal opportunity to improve their mark before submission.
Our article on academic results without the burnout addresses how to sustain thinking quality across the IA period without exhausting the student before final exams.
When to Bring in a Subject Tutor
The IA period is one of the most productive times to engage a subject specialist — for reasons clearly within the academic integrity framework.
A tutor can help a student:
Select an appropriate topic: narrow enough to investigate thoroughly, broad enough to generate meaningful analysis.
Understand the assessment criteria: working through what each criterion requires *before* the first draft saves significant revision time.
Develop the subject content: a student who wants to investigate a mathematical topic unfamiliar to them can receive targeted teaching — the IA then reflects what they have genuinely learned.
Review a draft critically: identifying where criteria are not met or where the argument or mathematics is insufficient.
Our IB Maths and Science tutors — including examiners and moderators — provide exactly this kind of IA support. Full details are on our Science service page and about page.
Is your child approaching their IA draft deadline? Book a free consultation with Sophyra Tutors — our IBO examiners can provide focused, integrity-compliant IA guidance before it is too late to make a difference.
If your child is approaching the final stages of secondary education and beginning to think seriously about university destinations, Sophyra Next is a structured planning tool that maps subject choices to university entry requirements, affordability, and international study options -- useful for families weighing options across the UK, Europe, Asia, and the GCC.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a student change their IA topic after submitting a first draft to their teacher? Yes, in most cases — though the feasibility depends on how far through the timeline the student is. Changing topic late in Year 13 is high-risk; changing or significantly refocusing in early Year 12 is common and often advisable.
Does a higher-achieving school get an advantage in IA moderation? No. Moderation adjusts school marking upward or downward based on the IBO's independent assessment of the work, not on the school's reputation. A student's IA is evaluated on its own merits.
What happens if a teacher marks too generously and moderation adjusts the marks down? The moderated marks are the ones that count. The adjustment applies proportionally to all students in the sampled cohort, not only those whose individual work was reviewed.
Is an AI tool like ChatGPT allowed in IA work? The IBO's position on AI tools is evolving and set out in their Academic Integrity documentation, updated regularly. As of current guidance, AI-generated content submitted as a student's own work constitutes malpractice. Students should check the most recent IBO policy and their school's specific guidance.
How much should a parent worry if their child seems stuck on their IA topic? Being stuck on topic selection is normal and is usually resolved through teacher guidance, peer discussion, or a conversation with a subject tutor. Sustained avoidance — the student not engaging with the IA at all across several weeks — is worth addressing early, whether through the school or through external support.
