H1Assessment mailings sent from IB Cardiff

During the academic year coordinators will receive the following mailings from IB Cardiff that provide material to support the administration of assessment and examination papers for the written examinations in May and November.

H1.1Examination stationery

In November/May, six months before the written examinations, schools receive a package of examination stationery. The mailing is based on a school’s forecast of candidate entries by subject/level (including extended essays), described in section G4. As mentioned in section G4, a school will not receive its supply of examination stationery unless the forecast is submitted.

When the package of stationery arrives, check to see whether there is a sufficient quantity of each item. If the amount of stationery supplied by IB Cardiff is insufficient for the examination session, additional stationery should be requested by email, using the address exam.stationery@ibo.org. A fee will be charged for any stationery beyond what is actually required for the session. Please do not ask your regional office for more stationery.

The package of stationery does not include the music CDs, personalized coversheets and multiple choice answer sheets required for the written examinations. These are sent to schools in April/October with the examination papers. (For further details refer to section H1.4.) According to the requirements of each school this mailing includes:

The following coversheets must be downloaded from IBIS and then photocopied in sufficient quantities. They are double-sided and should be copied on to white paper:

If additional covers in English, French or Spanish are required for extended essays, these should also be downloaded from IBIS.

H1.2Language A1 SL school supported self-taught

In March/September, about two months before the written examinations, schools receive a package of materials required for the language A1 SL school supported self-taught oral examinations. This is for the oral examination based on part 2 and part 4 of the candidate’s course of study in place of the internal assessment component for taught candidates. Occasionally there may be a delay in sending this material for the oral examination.

H1.3School-based syllabuses

In March/September, about two months before the written examinations, schools receive the marksheets required for school-based syllabuses offered by the school. With effect from May 2009 this material may be sent to coordinators in portable document format (PDF) as an attachment to an email. Alternatively, the marksheets may be available as online forms on IBIS depending on whether this option has been developed in time for the May 2009 session. A news item will be placed on IBIS at an appropriate date to announce which method of delivery will be used.

H1.4Examination papers

In April/October, the month before the written examinations, schools receive a consignment by courier containing the examination papers and other material required for the written examinations. When the consignment arrives, do not open the sealed packets containing the examination papers. (The subject, level, paper and response language of each paper can be read through the window of the packet.)

On receipt of the consignment, seal any packets that have been opened or damaged during transit and then use the examination paper checklist (available on IBIS) to ensure that you have the correct examination papers and a sufficient number of each paper for your candidate entry in each subject, level and response language. There are five examination papers in each packet.

The sealed packets of examination papers will also contain the following examination material.

The following examination materials are not enclosed with the examination papers, but are packaged separately.

The invigilator’s instructions for the music listening paper must be studied before the examination, but the packets containing the examination papers must not be opened, and the CDs must not be listened to until the start of the examination.

After checking the sealed packets of examination papers, place the packets and any other confidential material in a very secure place on the school premises, preferably in a strong safe or purpose-built room. Store the examination papers in chronological order according to the examination schedule. Ensure that the safe or room is kept locked, that access is strictly limited and that all key holders are known to you.

After checking the consignment and placing all examination material in a secure place, complete and submit the reply form Arrival of examination papers. Use this form on IBIS to report:

IB Cardiff must receive this form from all schools with candidates registered for the session to ensure that all examination papers have been received prior to the start of the examinations in May/November. Do not use this reply form to report issues concerning examination stationery; send an email to exam.stationery@ibo.org.

Do not remove any examination papers from their secure location until immediately before the relevant examination. Examination papers must always be securely stored or within the possession of the coordinator (or his or her nominee). Inform IB Cardiff immediately if the security of the examination papers is compromised, or may have been compromised, by fire, theft, unauthorized access or any other circumstances. Under no circumstances may an examination paper or its contents be made available to any person, including the coordinator, before the start of the examination.

If you had to pay for customs clearance, delivery or airport charges to collect the package, provide details on the reply form and send all receipts to IB Cardiff to obtain credit on your account for the amount. Address your request for a refund to the examination paper production manager at IB Cardiff.

In addition to the examination papers in sealed plastic packets, the consignment will contain the additional items listed here. Check the contents of the consignment to ensure that you have these items, where appropriate for your school. If there are any issues concerning the answer coversheets or multiple choice answer sheets, contact the coordinator help desk using the email address help@ibo.org

Answer coversheets

For each candidate in each examination there is a personalized blue answer coversheet. A coversheet will identify not only the candidate, but also the subject, level and paper (for example, paper 2) for an examination. Therefore, in each examination it is essential that each candidate has the correct coversheet. For candidates without a personalized coversheet, perhaps because of late registration, generic coversheets can be printed from IBIS. IB Cardiff does not provide personalized coversheets for candidates who are registered after the final registration deadline.

Multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ) answer sheets

For each candidate taking an examination with multiple choice questions for paper 1, the consignment will include yellow MCQ answer sheets. Like the answer coversheets these are pre-printed with each candidate’s name and session number, and other details particular to the examination. Generic MCQ answer sheets are provided with the consignment for candidates who were registered after the final registration deadline.