IB Maths Studies/Project

The IB Math Studies Internal Assesment (IA) will be assessed on 7 criteria. Students should read them carefully, and always check any work done on the project against the criteria.

The Criteria are

A) Introduction

Mark                    Descriptor 0          The student does not produce a clear statement of the task. - There is no evidence in the project of any statement of what the student is going to do or has done.

1          The student produces a clear statement of the task. - For this level to be achieved the task should be stated explicitly.

2          The student produces a title, a clear statement of the task and a clear description of the plan. - The plan need not be highly detailed, but must describe how the task will be performed.

B) Information and Measurement

Mark                    Descriptor 0          The student does not collect relevant information or generate relevant measurements. - No attempt has been made to collect any relevant information or generate any relevant measurements.

1          The student collects relevant information or generates relevant measurements. - This achievement level can be awarded even if a fundamental flaw exists in the instrument used to collect the information, for example, a faulty questionnaire or an interview conducted in an invalid way.

2          The relevant information collected, or set of measurements generated by the student, is organized in a form appropriate for analysis or is sufficient in both quality and quantity. - A satisfactory attempt has been made to structure the information/measurements ready for the process of analysis, or the information/measurements are adequate in both quantity and quality.

3          The relevant information collected, or set of measurements generated by the student, is organized in a form appropriate for analysis and is sufficient in both quality and quantity. - This level cannot be achieved if the measurements/information are too sparse (that is, insufficient in quantity) or too simple (for example, one-dimensional) as clearly it does not lend itself to being structured. It should therefore be recognized that within this descriptor there are assumptions about the quantity and, more importantly, the quality(in terms of depth and breadth) of information or measurements generated.

C Mathematical Processes

Mark                    Descriptor 0         The student does not attempt to carry out any mathematical processes

1         The student carries out simple mathematical processes. - Simple processes are considered to be those that the average mathematical studies student could carry out easily, for example, percentages, areas of plane shapes, linear and quadratic functions (graphing and analysing), bar charts, pie charts, mean and standard deviation, simple probability. This level does not require the representation to be comprehensive, nor does it demand the calculations to be without error.

2         The simple mathematical processes are mostly or completely correct, or the student makes an attempt to use at least one sophisticated process. - Examples of sophisticated processes are volumes of pyramids and cones, analysis of trigonometric and exponential functions, optimization, statistical tests and compound probability. For this level to be achieved it is not required that the calculations for the sophisticated process(es) be without error.

3      The student carries out at least one sophisticated process, and all the processes used are mostly or completely accurate.

-The key word in this descriptor is “accurate”. It is accepted that not all calculations need to be checked before awarding this achievement level; random checking of some calculations is sufficient. A small number of isolated mistakes should not disqualify a student from achieving this level. However, incorrect use of formulae, or consistent mistakes in using data, would disqualify the student from achieving this level.

4      The student carries out at least one sophisticated process; the processes used are mostly or completely accurate and all the processes used are relevant.

-For this level to be achieved the mathematical processes must be appropriate and used in a meaningful way.

5      The student accurately carries out a number of relevant sophisticated processes.

To achieve this level the student would be expected to have carried out a range of meaningful mathematical processes. The processes may all relate to a single area of mathematics, for example, geometry. Measurements, information or data that are limited in scope would not allow the student to achieve this level.

D Interpretation of Results Mark                    Descriptor 0         The student does not produce any interpretations or conclusions. -For the student to be awarded this level there must be no evidence of interpretation or conclusions anywhere in the project, or a completely false interpretation is given without any reference to any of the results obtained.

1         The student produces at least one interpretation or conclusion. -Only minimal evidence of interpretations or conclusions is required for this level. This level can be achieved by recognizing the need to interpret the results and attempting to do so, but reaching only false conclusions.

2         The student produces at least one interpretation and/or conclusion that is consistent with the mathematical processes used. -For this level to be achieved at least one interpretation and/or conclusion is required. A "follow through" procedure should be used and. consequently, it is irrelevant here whether the processes are either correct or appropriate; the only requirement is consistency.

3The student produces a comprehensive discussion of interpretations and conclusions that are consistent with the mathematical processes used. -To achieve this level the student would be expected to produce a meaningful discussion of the results obtained and the conclusions drawn. In this context, the word "Comprehensive" should be taken to mean thorough and detailed discussion of interpretations based on the level of understanding reasonably to be expected from a student for mathematical studies SL.

E Validity

F Structure and Communication

G Commitment