Changes to the May 2021 IB Examinations
In light of the current global situation, the IBO has made changes to the upcoming May 2021 and November 2021 exams. These changes have been made to account for the numerous disruptions and interruptions experienced by IB students all over the world. In this short blog post, we summarise the key changes to the May 2021 IB exams.
Changes have been implemented in three distinct ways:
- Component(s) Remove: Examination component(s) for a subject completely removed. For example, Paper 3 removed for Physics HL.
- Component(s) Amended: Examination component(s) for a subject amended by eliminating questions or sections, or by changing submission or delivery requirements. For example, Section C removed from Business Management HL Paper 2.
- In-session Mitigation: Examination component(s) stay the same, however changes made, as necessary, during standardisation, marking, and grade awarding. It is still unclear how this will be implemented, but it may likely result in lower grade boundaries (don’t bet on this to achieve your grades though!)
Please note that this post was written based on all available information at the time of publication. Given how unpredictable current times have been, we highly recommend that you regularly check the official IBO Covid-19 page, and guidelines issued by your school.
Quick Access:
Group 1 – Studies in Language and Literature (Language A)
Group 2 – Language Acquisition
Group 3 – Individual and Societies
Group 4 – Sciences
Group 5 – Mathematics
Useful Links
Group 1 – Studies in Language and Literature (Language A)
Language A: Literature/Language and Literature (Components Removed)
Paper 2 has been removed. Students sit only Paper 1 and complete the IA requirements. Paper 1 duration remains the same.
Group 2 – Language Acquisition
Language ab initio (Components Amended)
Paper 1 – Students answer only one question from either Task A or Task B
Internal Assessment – Students can be shown five visual stimuli, one from each of the five themes.
Language B (Components Amended)
SL – Paper 2 – Listening comprehension removed.
SL – Internal Assessment – Students can be shown five visual stimuli, one from each of the five themes.
HL – Paper 2 – Listening comprehension removed.
HL – Internal Assessment –Teachers may share two extracts from the same literary text with students.
Group 3 – Individual and Societies
Business Studies (Components Amended)
SL – Paper 1 – Students answer only one question in section A
Sl – Paper 2 – Section C Removed
HL – Paper 1 & Paper 2 – Section C Removed
Economics (Components Amended)
SL/HL – Paper 2 – Students answer only one question from either Section A or Section B
Geography (Components Amended)
SL/HL – Paper 1 – Answer questions for only one option
SL/HL – Paper 2 – Section C removed
History (Components Amended)
SL/HL – Paper 2 – Students answer 1 question
HL – Paper 3 – Students answer 2 essays, each from a different section
Group 4 – Sciences
Biology, Chemistry and Physics (Components Removed)
Sl/HL – Paper 3 – Removed. All other components remain the same.
Environmental Systems (In-session Mitigation)
No changes to exam structure. However, there will be In-session mitigation.
Group 5 – Mathematics
Mathematics Analysis and Approaches (In-session Mitigation)
No changes to exam structure. However, there will be In-session mitigation.
Mathematics Applications and Interpretation (In-session Mitigation)
No changes to exam structure. However, there will be In-session mitigation.
Useful Links
Official information from the IB can be found here at the links below.