Many students shy away from enrolling in IB Computer Science IA because they’re afraid the subject might be too complicated. However, you might want to reconsider your options once you go through this guide, especially if you’d like to study Information Technology when you get to college.
Officially referred to as “The Solution”, the IB Computer Science Internal Assessment teaches students how to use computing technology to solve real-life problems for real-life clients. The subject accounts for 20% of the grade of the HL level and 30% of the SL level.
In this guide, you’ll learn everything there is to know about Computer Science IA, including the assessment criteria and the steps to take to score top marks in the subject.
Let’s get started.
What is IB Computer Science IA?
The IB Computer Science IA is an assignment that account for 20% of the total grades in Higher Level and 30% of the total grade in Standard Level. The assignment should have 5 parts and the word count shouldn’t exceed 2,000 words.
IB Computer Science IA Assessment Criteria
The following is a breakdown of the assessment criteria used for the IB Computer Science IA:
1. Planning
Your IB teacher will award 0 to 6 marks depending on whether or not you meet the standards required for the assignment.
They’ll begin by checking if you’ve identified a client and briefly described their problem. Moving on, they’ll examine your work further to determine whether you consulted the client and agreed on a solution based on its suitability.
According to the rubric, the word count in this section should not be more than 500 words. You will score a 6 for planning if you do everything right.
2. Solution Overview
In solution overview, awarded 0 to 6 points depending on the quality of the work, your teacher looks at whether you’ve developed a Record of Task (ROT) file. Your design document must include a test plan, a brief description of methods, and a design of the solution with detailed flowcharts and graphical visualization of the output.
You have 500 words for this section, so make sure you include only the most important details in the document.
The test plan for your IB Computer Science IA doesn’t have to be extensive, but you have to bring out the success criteria in your description. Your flowcharts should highlight all the processes used and should be thorough enough for you to score the top marks.
Lastly, your graphical representation should be a design of what the output looks like. You can use speech bubbles if you would like to annotate lightly.
3. Development
You can score 0 to 12 marks for the development part of your IB Computer Science IA depending on the quality and comprehensiveness of the work you produce.
To earn 9 to 12 points, you have to demonstrate a higher level of complexity in addressing the issue in the planning stage. You need to demonstrate appropriate use of exiting tools and implementation of relevant techniques. In addition to explaining the use of techniques in solving the problem identified in Planning, you need to make sure you identify the sources used.
The development part of the IB Computer Science IA should be a maximum of 1,000 words. The section should feature:
- Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams of your program (include programming language python, java)
- Clear screenshot of complex code (if any) and a concise explanation of why it’s suitable for solving the problem
- A list of any sources used
You have to use ADT (queues, linked lists, or 2D arrays) and Object Oriented Programming to get 3 marks or more.
The complex code doesn’t have to be anything complicated. The criterion doesn’t require the code to be the life story behind the project, so make it brief.
Check what referring your IB teacher wants you to use when citing your references. Use Harvard referencing for the code used, borrowed, or adapted from whichever source.
It’s important to understand that you can’t score a 12 in this section even if you’ve done a perfect job. IB teachers can award only up to 11 marks for this section because nobody knows what complex code is. Often, opinions tend to vary from person to person.
4. Functionality
There’s no word count assigned to this section because there’s no written content required. You will need to include a video, either a screen capture or a video recorded by a different device and score between 0 to 4 points depending on whether you meet the assessment guidelines for functionality.
To score high marks for functionality, the video you create should have the following characteristics:
- The video should be 2 to 7 minutes long
- The video should highlight the most important features, functions, and performance of your program
- It should include an explanation of how one can extend the program and
- There should audible narrations (you speaking) so your IB teacher can confirm that you worked on the project yourself
There are many video recording software solutions out there. So it’s up to you to decide what you’ll use to record the video depending on your computer’s specification. If you want our recommendation, we strongly suggest that you use Camtasia or Cam Studio.
One of the most important things when it comes to demonstrating functionality in your IB Computer Science IA is to be as authentic as possible.
More often than not, a high number of moderators will default to watching the video presentation and reading your documentation. You have to make sure your presentation is clear, otherwise they won’t understand your content or they might think you faked your project.
5. Evaluation
In evaluation, you have to demonstrate that you’ve met the set success criteria for the project as specified in the planning stage.
You have to show that the client in question loved your product or solution. And where applicable, do not hesitate to suggest feasible ideas that can help with the future improvement of the project.
The number of words for this part of the IB Computer Science IA should be what you have left after working on the first, second, and third section.