AGC - How to Interpret IBDP Progress Reports
This guide is designed to help parents understand the structure and purpose of progress reports for students enrolled in the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) at Aoba-Japan International School (A-JIS). This guide should be relevant for both on campus and online IBDP students. Understanding these reports is key to effectively supporting your child's academic journey and university preparation.
1. Why Progress Reports are Essential
Our reporting system is specifically designed to meet the rigorous demands of the two-year IBDP while fostering a constructive home-school partnership.
Guiding Growth and Effort: Reports provide students and families with a clear and consistent picture of progress, highlighting both specific strengths and crucial areas for growth.
Managing Anxiety (The "On Track For" Grade): We use an "On Track For" grade rather than a fixed unit score. This approach reinforces the idea that progress is ongoing and responsive to effort, helping to ease anxiety around predicted grades for university.
Supporting University Preparation: The grades provided serve as the primary evidence used by teachers to formulate official Predicted Grades. These predictions are a critical component of the university application process worldwide.
Ensuring Consistency: It is essential that the meaning of grades remains consistent across subjects and academic years, as university transcripts often require grades dating back to the start of the program.
2. Understanding the Report: Two Complementary Grades
Each Progress Report provides two distinct yet complementary grades, both on the 1–7 scale, which together paint a holistic picture of your child’s readiness.
A. Academic Achievement: The "On Track For" IBDP Subject Grade (1–7)
This is the grade for your child's six specific IB subjects. It is a professional estimate of the final IB grade the student is most likely to achieve by the end of the two-year course.
IB Grade | Description | University Context |
7 | Outstanding performance with exceptional understanding (Highest Grade) | Highest level of achievement; often equivalent to an A* at A-Level. |
6 | Very good performance with strong subject mastery. | |
5 | Good performance with solid understanding. | Usually considered a solid passing mark for university admission. |
4 | Satisfactory performance meeting basic standards. | Often considered the minimum requirement for competitive university admissions. |
3 | Mediocre performance needing improvement. | May be acceptable for admissions, but with concerns. |
2 | Poor performance with significant gaps. | |
1 | Very poor performance with minimal understanding (Lowest Grade) |
The final IB grade is a combination of multiple assessments: Internal Assessments (IAs) (20–30% of the grade) and External Examinations (70–80% of the grade). The "On Track For" grade synthesizes all evidence to estimate this final combined score.
B. Skills for Success: The Aoba Core Assessment Rubric (1–7)
This grade measures the development of essential concepts, dispositions, and life skills. These indicators are not specific to any particular IBDP subject. Aoba Core Assessment points are not used for university entrance purposes. The primary purpose is as a reflective tool for students, and to ensure that students, teachers, and families consider holistic development of these essential aspects
Aoba’s goal is to support the growth of our students into well-rounded, resilient, and capable young adults who graduate with not only knowledge and skills, but the capacity to apply their knowledge and skills independently, creatively, and effectively.
Scale | 1 - Emerging | 2 - Developing | 3 - Consolidating | 4 - Demonstrating | 5 - Applying | 6 - Mastering | 7 - Excelling |
Learning Process | Minimal engagement in the learning process and difficulty applying the Aoba Inquiry Cycle, failing to ask questions or explore topics in an investigative manner. | With guidance, there is limited or partial engagement in the learning process and ineffective application of the Aoba Inquiry Cycle, occasionally asking questions or exploring topics in an investigative manner. | Basic engagement in the learning process and partial application of the Aoba Inquiry Cycle, asking questions and exploring topics with some consistency. | Regular engagement in the learning process and consistent application of the Aoba Inquiry Cycle, asking investigative questions and exploring topics to seek answers. | Proficient engagement in the learning process and thorough application of the Aoba Inquiry Cycle, asking thoughtful questions and conducting investigations to seek meaningful answers. | Advanced engagement in the learning process and critical application of the Aoba Inquiry Cycle, asking complex questions and conducting thorough investigations to seek deep and meaningful answers. | Expert engagement in the learning process, with the ability to design and adapt inquiries using the Aoba Inquiry Cycle, conducting innovative investigations that seek deep insights and potential to contribute to the subject matter. |
Critical and Creative Thinking | Difficulty generating any ideas without guidance and has not approached problems with critical or creative thinking skills. | Fragmented or superficial understanding of inquiry concepts, sometimes generating only one idea or a partial idea. | Identifies, lists, or defines some ideas, but has difficulty making connections between inquiry concepts. | Organizes several ideas and starts to describe patterns but has difficulty making strong connections between inquiry concepts. | Explains relationships and makes connections between multiple inquiry concepts, although sometimes only partially effective. | Demonstrates some synthesis and analysis of ideas and can generate new understandings, but the connections could be deeper or more insightful. | Generates new ideas, innovative connections, and transfers ideas to new and complex contexts. Theorizes and draws meaningful conclusions. |
Communication | Little sense of organization. There is no evidence of a coherent message. | Some organization of the communication that aligns with the purpose is evident. There is some evidence of a message. | The organization of the communication aligns with the purpose. The message is conveyed with limited clarity. | The organization and style of the communication sometimes align with the purpose. The message is conveyed somewhat clearly. | The organization and style of the communication align with the purpose. The message is conveyed clearly. | The organization and style of communication are mostly effective and align with the purpose. The message is conveyed clearly and is convincing. | The organization and style of the communication are very effective and clearly align with the purpose. The message is conveyed clearly and is compelling. |
Teamwork | No organizational structure evident in the team's work. The team member does not share, collaborate or participate. | Ineffective organizational structure is evident in the team's work. The team member occasionally shares, collaborates and participates at sporadic times. | Basic organizational structure is sometimes evident in the team's work. The team member shares, collaborates and participates some of the time. | Basic organizational structure is consistently evident in the team's work. The team member shares, collaborates and participates most of the time. | Effective organizational structure is consistently evident in the team's work. The team member shares, collaborates and participates most of the time. | Consistent and very effective organizational structure is always evident in the team's work. The team member shares, collaborates and participates independently most of the time. | Consistent and very effective organizational structure is always evident in the team's work which is adapted to changing needs. The team member collaborates and participates extensively and independently throughout. |
The Interrelationship: Academic Marks + Core Skills
The two grades complement each other:
A student with a low "On Track For" IBDP grade but a high Core Assessment score shows they have well developed life skills but need to focus on applying them consistently to subject-specific content and assessment criteria.
A student with a high "On Track For" grade but a low Core Assessment score may be struggling with independent research, organization, or self-management, which could put their final high-stakes submissions (like the Extended Essay or IA) at risk if these skills are not improved.
C. The IB Diploma Core Component Progress
The reports also track progress on the three required components that create a maximum diploma score of 45 points:
Theory of Knowledge (TOK) & Extended Essay (EE): Progress is graded using an A–E scale (A being the highest grade). TOK and EE together can contribute up to 3 bonus points to the final diploma score.
Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS):
Grade 11 (DP1): Progress is tracked via a drop-down box.
Grade 12 (DP2): The final report includes a Pass/Fail status, as this is a mandatory requirement for diploma completion.
3. The Reporting Timeline (Generic Overview)
The academic year is divided into two semesters. You will receive two formal reports each semester to ensure continuous, timely feedback:
Report Type | General Timing | Primary Focus |
Interim Progress Report | Mid-Semester (e.g., October and March/April) | Provides a quick check-in to highlight immediate strengths and identify necessary adjustments. |
End of Semester Progress Report | End of Semester (e.g., January/February and June) | A comprehensive summary of achievement for the semester. This is the official record used for transcripts and university applications. Detailed comments and suggestions from teachers are included. |
DP Year 2 (Grade 12) Semester 1 reports correlate with “Predicted Grades”. Predicted Grades are used for university application purposes in order to secure admissions, since final IBDP subject grades and IBDP exam scores are not known until late Spring/early Summer of the following year, which is well after most universities provide offer decisions to students.
DP Year 2 (Grade 12) Semester 2 reports constitute the final grades for each IBDP subject class, along with the Core of Theory of Knowledge (ToK), CAS, and Extended Essay. These scores combine into a final score out of 45 points and comprise a student’s final academic marks for the 2-year IB Diploma Programme.
4. Leveraging Report Data and Feedback: What to Discuss at Home
Leveraging the Feedback: Supporting Your Child
The narrative comments are the most important part of the report, as they translate the grades into a guide for constructive discussions at home.
Focus on Effort and Learning
Research shows that parents who focus on learning over grades see better academic outcomes. Use the report to:
Acknowledge Effort: Celebrate both the academic grade and the progress in the Core Assessment skills.
Discuss Learning Strategies: Ask how they approached a difficult assessment or what strategy they used to improve a skill.
Having Productive Grade Discussions
Use the report as a conversation starter, not a source of confrontation.
Ask Open-Ended Questions: Instead of asking "Why did you get a 4?", try:
"What part of this subject do you feel most confident about right now?"
"Looking at the teacher's comment, which of the suggested next steps are you going to tackle first?"
"What resources or support do you need from me or the school to get on track for a 6 in this subject instead of a 4?"
Focus on the Process: The Core Assessment grade is your best tool here. If a student's academic grade is low, but their "Learning Process" is high (5 or above), the conversation should focus on content review. If the academic grade is high, but "Time Management" is low (3 or below), the conversation should focus on organization to avoid burnout.
Use the Structured Comments as a Guide
Our teachers provide highly structured comments that serve as a personalized roadmap:
"[Student's Name] can..." (Strengths): These highlight specific achievements linked to subject criteria. Use this to encourage them to apply these strengths to other subjects.
"[Student's Name] should..." (Next Steps): These outline clear, specific steps for improvement. Turn these into a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). For example, if the comment says a student should improve organization, the goal is not "Be more organized," but "I will use a digital planner every Monday to map out all due dates for the next two weeks."
For the final, end-of-year comment, it is a continuous narrative that summarizes successes, identifies challenges, and outlines next steps for the following academic year/future pathways.
Factors in Your Control: Creating a Supportive Environment
As a parent, you have control over the home environment, which is crucial for student success, particularly if your child is studying in our Online IBDP:
Time Management & Structure: Help your child establish a consistent daily schedule that includes dedicated study blocks, meal times, and a strict "shut-down" time for screens. Encourage them to break large tasks (like the Extended Essay) into smaller, manageable steps to practice the organizational skills outlined in the Core Rubric.
Physical and Mental Well-being: The IBDP is demanding. Encourage balance by ensuring they prioritize sleep, regular physical activity, and social interaction (part of the CAS requirement). A student who is rested and balanced is better equipped to handle academic rigor.
Dedicated Workspace: While online learning offers flexibility, a distraction-free, dedicated workspace is non-negotiable for success. This space should be quiet, well-lit, and used primarily for schoolwork to promote focus during synchronous classes and independent study. Even if your child is studying on campus, having a comfortable and productive space at home for focused study is key.
Communicating with Teachers
Communication with teachers strengthens your child's support network and ensure alignment between messages and support at school and at home.
Encourage Self-Advocacy: Before contacting a teacher, ask your child if they have spoken to the teacher directly about their concern first. This builds vital self-advocacy skills needed for university.
Reach Out When:
You notice a sudden drop in performance across multiple subjects (which may indicate a non-academic issue or challenge with a Core skill).
You have questions about the requirements or scope of the high-stakes Internal Assessment (IA) or Extended Essay (EE).
You want to proactively discuss the next set of goals, using the report's feedback as your starting point.
Remember to focus on your child’s learning and overall development, not just the final numerical grades, to guide them successfully through their IB journey.
