IA Samples and Admin

February 25, 2015

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Like a dog with a frisbee, a really bad virus or a bad cheque (check), it’s back. Time to get the Internal Assessment (IA) portfolios together, submit final grades and then compile the sample for external moderation. Many...

DRQ puzzle

February 13, 2015

One of the reoccurring discussions in the economics department is why so many students with solid abilities in economics receive lower-than-expected marks in data response questions (DRQs – Paper 2 in the most recent syllabus). The data is reasonably unequivocal...

Five easily corrected EE mistakes in economics

November 30, 2014

By now most schools will start to see the final extended essay (EE) deadline approaching. We economics teachers, frequently rather heavily burdened with EE supervision, will sit down with a pile of penultimate drafts and start giving our comments for the final draft....

Grade inflation

October 16, 2014

The following brief note is basically just a rant about what has become one of my favorite whipping horses over the past year or so. Thus, don’t figure on learning anything as I’m just blowing off steam. It’s cheaper than therapy.   Every school...

“It’s easier to pull a piece of string than push it…”

September 3, 2014

The quote used in the heading is one of many pithy comments felled by my father – and one of the few one can put in print. As I recall, he used it in conjunction with a rant he was having about basic management skills, or, rather what he saw as the lack thereof...

Another trade-off…

August 19, 2014

Starting up the school year one more time…and once again I am struck by the trade-off issues arising in putting together the ‘optimal’ first-year syllabus plan for IB economics students. Ceteris paribus, it boils down to a choice between: I)...