INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

The purpose of the new internal assessment task is for students to engage in a study of an
environmental issue that can be focused within the scope of the ESS internal assessment
but that is, at the same time, linked to a broader environmental context and that will
ultimately inform the wider issue through the suggestion of solutions or applications. The
process of engaging with this study might therefore involve:

identifying a broad environmental issue (the context) that interests the student
developing and carrying out a small-scale study that relates to one or more aspects
of this issue
using the conclusion and evaluation of this study to suggest applications or
solutions to the broader issue that was the stimulus for the study.

The study could be carried out at a local, regional or global level. It is possible for the
student to identify a global context, to carry out a related study on a local scale and then
consider how their findings relate to providing solutions to the bigger issue. It is also
possible to identify a global context and then to carry out a small-scale study of one aspect
of that global problem using secondary data that is available through databases or other
secondary sources. A third possibility is that the student uses a local context as the basis
of their focused study, since not all authentic environmental problems are global in
nature.

A generalized route for planning an ESS internal assessment enquiry

The table below gives a suggested outline for the stages in organizing the internal
assessment investigation for a group of students, with route point markers that are linked
to the assessment criteria. The two routes presented divide the type of study into either
environmental or societal in nature, although the possibility of a research question that
involves a hybrid type of study should not be ruled out.

Environmental systems Enquiry route point Societies

marker

Planning phase

1
Of the question, issue or
problem arising from the
interaction of people
and their environments.
Set up the research Planning focus: Definition
question and suggest
hypotheses, where this is
applicable.
Describe methods and
techniques. Decide on
what sort of data or
information to collect.
Measuring, counting,
field sketching of
photographs, mapping,
sampling programme,
equipment.
Action phasecollecting information
Graphs, pie charts, flow
charts, tables, maps, conclusion: Data analysis
descriptive statistics,
inferential statistics,
hypothesis testing.
What does the data
show?
Evaluation of methods.
What changes are likely
to happen in the future?
On what time scale?
How reliable are your
predictions? What does
research show?
Identifying the context: Of the values, attitudes and
Raising awareness and activities of the different
understanding of the groups of individuals
issue, question or regarding this issue, question
problem or problem.
Identify interested groups.
and description of the Classify values and activities.
issue and research
question
Planning: Design of Describe methods and
research techniques. Questionnaires,
surveys, case studies, opinion
polls, bipolar scales,
interviews, prompts (for
example, photographs,
media analysis).
Results, analysis and Identify bias, prejudice, and
misrepresentation. Identify
and presentation conflicts of interest and the
most powerful positions.
What does the data show?
Discussion and Evaluation of methods.
evaluation: Discuss, Which viewpoint is likely to
predict, evaluate succeed? Can compromise be
reached? Evaluate the
sustainability issues resulting
from the enquiry.
2
Based on the
environmental context,
what are the
management options?
Which should be carried
out? Does the social
consideration conflict
with the environmental
one?
Application: Solutions and Based on the social context,
decisions what are the management
options? Which ones should
or could be carried out?
Why? Will the enquiry
change your ideas, ethics or
behaviour?

Job, D. 1995. "Geography with attitude". Geography Review. Volume 4. Pp 3337.

The internal assessment criteria

The internal assessment criteria, examined in more detail below, are designed to assess
the different aspects of this study.
There are six assessment criteria.

Identifying the context (CXT) (6)

Planning (PLA) (6)
Results, analysis and conclusion (RAC) (6)
Discussion and evaluation (DEV) (6)
Applications (APP) (3)
Communication (COM) (3)

Each criterion aims to assess different aspects of the students research abilities. The
sections are differently weighted to emphasize the relative contribution of each aspect to
the overall quality of the investigation. As the investigation and, therefore, the
approaches to the investigation, will be individual to each student, the marking criteria are
not designed to be a tick chart markscheme and each section is meant to be seen within
the context of the whole. As such, a certain degree of interpretation is inevitable.

Identifying the context (CXT)(6)

This criterion assesses the extent to which the student establishes and explores an
environmental issue (either local or global) for an investigation and develops this to state
a relevant and focused research question.

Achievement Descriptor
level

3
 0 The students report does not reach a standard described by any of the
descriptors given below.

12 The students report:

states a research question, but there is a lack of focus

outlines an environmental issue (either local or global) that is
linked to the research question
lists connections between the environmental issue (either local
or global) and the research question but there are significant
omissions.

34 The students report:

states a relevant research question

outlines an environmental issue (either local or global) that
provides the context to the research question
describes connections between the environmental issue (either
local or global) and the research question, but there are
omissions.

56 The students report:

states a relevant, coherent and focused research question

discusses a relevant environmental issue (either local or global)
that provides the context for the research question
explains the connections between the environmental issue
(either local or global) and the research question.

Planning (PLA)(6)
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student has developed appropriate
methods to gather data that is relevant to the research question. This data could be
primary or secondary, qualitative or quantitative, and may utilize techniques associated
with both experimental or social science methods of inquiry. There is an assessment of
safety, environmental and ethical considerations where applicable.

Achievement Descriptor
level

4
 0 The students report does not reach a standard described by any of the
descriptors given below.

12 The students report:

designs a method that is inappropriate because it will not allow

for the collection of relevant data
outlines the choice of sampling strategy but with some errors
and omissions
lists some risks and ethical considerations where applicable.

34 The students report:

designs a repeatable* method appropriate to the research

question but the method does not allow for the collection of
sufficient relevant data
describes the choice of sampling strategy
outlines the risk assessment and ethical considerations where
applicable.

56 The students report:

designs a repeatable* method appropriate to the research

question that allows for the collection of sufficient relevant data
justifies the choice of sampling strategy used
describes the risk assessment and ethical considerations where
applicable.

*Repeatable, in this context, means that sufficient detail is provided for the reader to be
able to replicate the data collection for another environment or society. It
does not necessarily mean repeatable in the sense of replicating it under laboratory
conditions to obtain a number of runs or repeats in which all the control variables are
exactly the same.

Results, analysis and conclusion (RAC)(6)

This criterion assesses the extent to which the student has collected, recorded, processed
and interpreted the data in ways that are relevant to the research question. The patterns
in the data are correctly interpreted to reach a valid conclusion.

5
Achievement Descriptor
level

0 The students report does not reach a standard described by any of the
descriptors given below.

12 The students report:

constructs some diagrams, charts or graphs of quantitative

and/or qualitative data, but there are significant errors or
omissions
analyses some of the data but there are significant errors and/or
omissions
states a conclusion that is not supported by the data.

34 The students report:

constructs diagrams, charts or graphs of quantitative and/or

qualitative data that are appropriate but there are some
omissions.
analyses the data correctly but the analysis is incomplete
interprets some trends, patterns or relationships in the data so
that a conclusion with some validity is deduced.

56 The students report:

constructs diagrams, charts or graphs of all relevant quantitative

and/or qualitative data appropriately
analyses the data correctly and completely so that all relevant
patterns are displayed
interprets trends, patterns or relationships in the data, so that a
valid conclusion to the research question is deduced.

Discussion and evaluation (DEV)(6)

This criterion assesses the extent to which the student discusses the conclusion in the
context of the environmental issue, and carries out an evaluation of the investigation.

6
Achievement Descriptor
level

0 The students report does not reach a standard described by any of the
descriptors given below.

12 The students report:

describes how some aspects of the conclusion are related to the

environmental issue
identifies some strengths and weaknesses and limitations of the
method
suggests superficial modifications and/or further areas of
research.

34 The students report:

evaluates the conclusion in the context of the environmental

issue but there are omissions
describes some strengths, weaknesses and limitations within the
method used
suggests modifications and further areas of research.

56 The students report:

evaluates the conclusion in the context of the environmental

issue
discusses strengths, weaknesses and limitations within the
method used.
Suggests modifications addressing one or more significant
weaknesses with large effect and further areas of research.

Applications (APP)(3)
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student identifies and evaluates one way to
apply the outcomes of the investigation in relation to the broader environmental issue
that was identified at the start of the project.

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Achievement Descriptor
level

0 The students report does not reach a standard described by any of the
descriptors given below.

1 The students report:

states one potential application and/or solution to the

environmental issue that has been discussed in the context
describes some strengths, weaknesses and limitations of this
solution.

2 The students report:

describes one potential application and/or solution to the

environmental issue that has been discussed in the context, based
on the findings of the study, but the justification is weak or missing
evaluates some relevant strengths, weaknesses and limitations of
this solution.

3 The students report:

justifies one potential application and/or solution to the

environmental issue that has been discussed in the context, based
on the findings of the study
evaluates relevant strengths, weaknesses and limitations of this
solution.

Communication (COM)(3)
This criterion assesses whether the report has been presented in a way that supports
effective communication in terms of structure, coherence and clarity. The focus, process
and outcomes of the report are all well presented.

Achievement Descriptor
level

8
 0 The students report does not reach a standard described by any of the
descriptors given below.

The investigation has limited structure and organization.

1 The report makes limited use of appropriate terminology and it is
not concise.
The presentation of the report limits the readers understanding.

2 The report has structure and organization but this is not

sustained throughout the report.
The report either makes use of appropriate terminology or is
concise.
The report is mainly logical and coherent, but is difficult to follow
in parts.

3 The report is well-structured and well-organized.

The report makes consistent use of appropriate terminology and
is concise.
The report is logical and coherent.

Guidance for the use of the internal assessment criteria

The following guidance is designed to help teachers to focus on the intention of each
criterion and their use in a practical context, rather than purely as a summative tool for
assessment.

Identifying the context

This criterion assesses the development of the purpose of the study. The student will be
expected to show an understanding of the broader environmental issue and then develop
their idea for a focused research question. The essential point here is that the student is
able to explain the broader issue and then distill this to create a focused research question
that has relevance to the broader issue but is at a meaningful scale for the time frame of
the investigation and the resources available to the student. To score highly, students will
need to be able to justify the connection between their own study and the bigger problem
that was the stimulus for their investigation.

Planning
Here, the emphasis is on the development of the methodology of the investigation. ESS
allows for a broad range of studies that could be scientific or social-science based. The

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criterion has been designed to allow for assessment of a wide range of types of study. So,
for example, when justifying the choice of the sampling strategy, this could mean
explaining the method of sampling recipients in a questionnaire, but could also mean the
selection of the number of repeats and the control of variables in a laboratory test. The
important idea is that the methodology is appropriate to the focused research question,
that there is sufficient data generated to lead to a conclusion, and that the rationale is
explained clearly.
Many ESS studies will involve ethical or safety considerations. The students must address
this, where necessary, paying attention to the IB animal experimentation policy (which
includes guidelines on working with human subjects), and should write about their
strategies for upholding safety and/or ethical standards in the report.

Results, analysis and conclusion

This criterion assesses the extent to which the student has collected and appropriately
analysed the data. If there is insufficient data then any treatment will be superficial. It is
hoped that a student would recognize the potential for such a lack and revisit the method
before they arrive at the data collection or analysis. Alternatively, a lack of primary data
could be supplemented by the use of secondary data from data banks or simulations to
provide sufficient material for analysis.
Any treatment of the data must be appropriate to the focus of the investigation in an
attempt to answer the research question. Guidance for the collection and analysis of data
is given in the section above. The conclusions drawn must be based on the evidence from
the data rather than on assumptions. Given the scope of the internal assessment and the
time allocated, it is more than likely that variability in the data will lead to a tentative
conclusion and may identify patterns or trends rather than establishing causal links. This
should be recognized and the extent of the variability be considered in the conclusion.
Where possible, the variability should be demonstrated and explained, and its impact on
the conclusion fully acknowledged. Please note, by conclusion, is meant a deduction
based on the direct interpretation of the data such as What does the graph show? or
Does any statistical test used support the conclusion? Any overview of the data in the
light of the broader context will be assessed in the criterion for discussion and evaluation.

Discussion and evaluation

This criterion requires the student to reflect on their study. In the first instance, they
should evaluate the methodology of their research, discussing the strengths, weaknesses
and limitations of the process. Any research project at this level is likely to be influenced
by limitations, and the focus here is to identify these and to reflect on how they have
impacted on the conclusion of the study. It might also be that weaknesses in the
experimental design that became evident as a result of carrying out the study are
discussed here. It is worth noting that although there is no requirement that the report is
organized according to the headings of the criteria, consideration of the validity of the
data will be assessed as part of the conclusion, and evaluation of the methodology will be
assessed in this discussion criterion.
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The student must also reflect on the outcomes of their investigation in relation to the
broader environmental issue, which was raised at the beginning of the internal
assessment process. To what extent do their findings support or contrast with information
available in the literature? What reasons can they suggest for any similarities or
differences? It is at this stage that the focused research question is now widened to re-
address the broader environmental issue or concern.

Applications
For this criterion, the student is expected to reflect on the results of their study in the light
of the broader environmental issue and suggest how their findings could be applied to
address the environmental issue, or to propose a potential solution to one aspect of the
issue. This criterion is therefore concerned with the synthesis of new ideas based on
research findings. The suggestion might be based in the local context of the study itself, or
might have relevance in a wider field, depending on the nature of the initial research
question and the quality of the data obtained. In order to score highly, the student must
justify and evaluate their suggestion rather than just stating a proposal.

Communication
The marking points for communication take the entire report into consideration. If a
report is clearly written and logically presented there should be no need for the teacher to
reread it. The information and explanations should be targeted at the question in hand
rather than a general exposition of the subject area; in other words, it should be focused.
The vocabulary should be subject specific and of a quality appropriate to the Diploma
Programme. The subject-specific conventions that can be expected are the correct
formats for graphs, tables and cell headings, and the correct use of units. This is not to say
that the presentation needs to be faultless to gain full marks. Minor errors are acceptable
as long as they do not have a significant bearing on understanding or interpretation of the
results.
A report that exceeds the given word limit is likely to be penalized in this section for not
being concise.

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