External Evaluation of the European Baccalaureate (Annexes)

Assessment Model
Oral examination
Both have oral examinations, based on a variety of tasks. The IB oral (30% of total) centres
on material studied in class: candidates have two sessions, one working on an individual
basis with a teacher where they talk about a text prepared in class (15 minute session, 20
minutes preparation time), and the second working as part of a group. The two EB orals (24%
of total) include unprepared material with 20 minutes of preparation time.
Both IB and EB oral examinations could be tackled by native speakers as well as L2
speakers. The free nature of the tasks means that standards could only be compared by
hearing recordings to see how fluent and organised candidates have to be to get bottom/
middle/ top marks. The grading criteria for both IB and EB are similar. The IB Language 2
clientele of second language speakers might suggest that high marks could go to candidates
performing at lower level than might be expected from native speakers.
Course Work
Candidates for the IB have to produce two pieces, each worth 10% of the total assessment.
Tasks set for the IB allow the possibility of writing in a number of different styles and genres.
One must be based on literary texts. Candidates for the EB gain 40% of the total assessment
from ‘preliminary marks’: these are made up of marks for class work and class examination.
The specification does not outline what these assignments/ exams should comprise, though
they are one way by which the course requirements are policed. IB course work is precisely
laid down.
Written Papers
The EB paper consists of one paper, four hours long (36% of total assessment), that asks
candidates to look at an unseen passage and then write an essay on a topic using knowledge
of literary texts as the basis for the argument.
IB candidates write two 2-hour exams (25% of total each). The first exam compares
passages. This is notionally harder than the assignment for the EB because it includes
comparison and passages could be from a wide variety of sources.
The second exam is provides an opportunity for candidates to write on a theme, displaying
knowledge about language, culture, media or literature. The potential scope here is broader
than that required by the EB paper because it is not confined to literature and the candidate’s
personal opinion.
Mapping Table – European Baccalaureate / OCR A Level and IBD
Subject: English
Syllabus compared: OCR English Language and Literature
22. Complete the first column with a detailed list of the topic areas covered in the
European Baccalaureate syllabus.
23. Insert a tick, or similar, to show where the topic is covered by the comparator
specification – please delete option columns if there are no options.
24. Include comments to describe where a topic is covered in greater depth in one or
other specification, where possible estimate how much time it would take to deliver
the extra depth.
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