The purpose of the internal assessment (IA) in the IB Computer Science course (first assessment 2027) is to allow students to demonstrate their understanding and application of computational thinking through the creation of a computational solution to a problem of their own choosing.
Key points about the IA:
- It is compulsory for both Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL) students, with identical assessment criteria used for both levels.
- Students must:
- Select a topic within computer science.
- Specify a problem they want to solve.
- Create a computational solution that shows their skills in decomposition, pattern recognition, algorithmic thinking, writing code, debugging, and testing.
The IA serves several important purposes:
- It brings together both themes of the course: conceptual understanding (Theme A) and computational problem-solving (Theme B).
- It enables students to showcase their programming and problem-solving abilities in a project format, without the time constraints of written exams.
- It supports individual inquiry and creativity, allowing students to work on something personally meaningful and technically engaging.
Students are assessed on five criteria:
- Problem specification
- Planning
- System overview
- Development
- Evaluation
The final submission includes:
- A written document (max 2,000 words),
- A video demonstrating the product and testing strategy,
- An appendix with full source code and relevant materials.
The IA contributes 30% of the final grade at SL and 20% at HL.
If I was going to give one piece of advice to students regarding their IA's, I would say explore a topic very deeply. Really focus on how this idea works at a low level.