IB DP Mock Exam Planning: 5 Decisions to Make Early

The mock exam timetable often looks manageable when it is first created.

Then the examination window arrives.

Students are completing Internal Assessments, revising Theory of Knowledge work, meeting Extended Essay milestones and preparing for several papers across six subjects. Teachers are trying to mark quickly enough for the results to remain useful. Coordinators are resolving clashes that could have been spotted months earlier.

A recent Koncepts LinkedIn post captured the problem in one sentence:

“None of these are February problems. They are August design decisions.”

The accompanying Curriculum Compass article focuses on five decisions: timing, paper selection, diagnostic purpose, digital readiness and post mock feedback.

The month names will not fit every school. Schools in the May examination session may place mocks in January or February, while November session schools will work to a different calendar. The IB publishes official examination sessions in May and November, but it does not publish one universal mock examination window for all schools. The principle is broader: mock success is designed early and experienced later.

What Should an IB DP Mock Exam Actually Do?

A mock should recreate enough of the real examination experience to show what a student can currently do independently, within the correct paper structure and under realistic time pressure.

The IB describes assessment as:

“direct evidence of achievement against the stated goals of the Diploma Programme courses.”

DP assessment measures knowledge, conceptual understanding, application, analysis, argument construction and problem solving. A useful mock should therefore reveal more than a total mark. It should show where knowledge is missing, where command terms are being misread, where timing breaks down and where a student understands the content but cannot yet present it in a form that earns marks.

The original Curriculum Compass article describes mocks as:

“a formative assessment that happens to look like a summative one.”

That is a useful way to frame the exercise. The paper may resemble a final examination, but its greatest value lies in what teachers and students change afterwards.

1. Build One DP Calendar Before Fixing the Mock Dates

The mock calendar should not be designed separately from the rest of DP2.

A subject teacher may see one reasonable Internal Assessment deadline. Another teacher may see one reasonable Extended Essay milestone. The coordinator may see one available week for mock exams.

The student experiences all three at once.

The IB sets final submission dates for assessed components and communicates them to schools. It also strongly recommends that schools set internal deadlines for the different stages of the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge process.

Before confirming the mock window, place the following on one shared calendar:

1. Internal Assessment draft and final deadlines for every subject

2. Extended Essay milestones and final school submission

3. Theory of Knowledge essay and exhibition deadlines

4. University application and reference deadlines

5. The proposed mock examination period

6. The time required for marking and moderation

7. The date on which feedback will be returned

8. Lessons reserved for post mock analysis and follow up

The original article recommends a two week buffer around major coursework deadlines. That can be a sensible local planning choice, but it is not a universal IB requirement. A school may need a longer or shorter interval depending on its timetable, cohort and internal submission process.

The practical question is simple:

Can students prepare properly for the mocks without weakening assessed coursework?

When the answer is no, the calendar needs to change before the year becomes too crowded to change it.

2. Confirm the Active Syllabus Before Selecting Questions

A familiar past paper is not automatically an appropriate mock paper.

The IB reviews subjects regularly and introduces new curricula on different timelines. A question may still look relevant while belonging to an old syllabus, a previous paper structure or an assessment objective that has changed.

The current transition calendar includes:

First assessment	Updated subjects or components
May 2025	Biology, Chemistry and Physics
May 2026	Environmental Systems and Societies, Global Politics, and Sports, Exercise and Health Science
May 2027	Computer Science, Design Technology, Psychology, Visual Arts and the Extended Essay
May 2028	History
May 2029	Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches, Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation, Language B, Language ab initio, Dance, and Religion and Society

The official IB curriculum updates page should be checked every year, not only when a department hears informally that a subject has changed.

The IB Questionbank already separates several old and current course versions. Biology, Chemistry and Physics appear under both “last assessment 2024” and “first assessment 2025.” Environmental Systems and Societies appears under both “last assessment 2025” and “first assessment 2026.”

A similar separation should exist inside the school’s own paper archive.

Before approving a question, confirm five things:

1. It belongs to the correct subject and HL or SL course.

2. Its content appears in the syllabus taught to the cohort.

3. Its paper structure matches the current assessment model.

4. Its command term and mark allocation reflect the intended demand.

5. Its markscheme remains compatible with current expectations.

An older question can still be useful for teaching when it is mapped carefully to the current course. The problem is using an entire old paper as a current mock without checking what has changed.

Where current past papers are limited, schools can use official specimen materials. The IB provides a public collection of sample and specimen examination papers, while further course resources are available to IB World Schools through the Programme Resource Centre.

3. Decide What the Mock Is Supposed to Diagnose

A mock paper should begin with a blueprint, not a folder of available questions.

The blueprint should identify the subject, course level, syllabus version, paper being simulated, topics sampled, command terms, total marks, duration, question types and permitted materials. It should also state how the paper will be marked and moderated.

This matters because two papers with the same total marks may test very different things.

One may overrepresent recently taught content. Another may contain too many familiar questions. A third may assess knowledge accurately but provide little evidence about extended writing, source analysis or decision making under time pressure.

Departments should agree on a small set of diagnostic categories before marking begins. These might include:

Diagnostic category	What it reveals
Knowledge gap	The required concept or fact was not understood
Command term error	The response did not meet the demand of the question
Weak application	Knowledge was present but not applied to the context
Missing evidence	A claim or judgement was not supported
Method error	The student selected or executed an incorrect process
Timing problem	The student could not complete the paper effectively
Exam technique	Marks were lost through structure, selection or presentation

This gives students something more useful than “revise more.”

It also protects predicted grades from being reduced to one mock result. The IB defines a predicted grade as the teacher’s expectation based on:

“all the evidence of the candidate’s work and the teacher’s knowledge of IB standards.”

A mock may be important evidence, but it is still one part of a wider professional judgement.

Schools should also be cautious when converting mock marks into grades. Official IB grade boundaries are set using candidate work, grade descriptors, examiner judgement and statistical evidence. A previous session’s boundaries can offer an indicative reference, but they cannot guarantee the boundaries that will apply in a future session.

For students, the Koncepts guide to reading IB markschemes can help connect command terms, marks and examiner expectations during the review process.

4. Prepare for the Correct Examination Mode

Digital examination readiness should be based on current official information, not assumptions carried over from the previous cohort.

The IB is introducing digital examinations gradually. Paper and digital examinations are being run in parallel during the transition, and schools can continue administering paper examinations while they prepare. Digital exams will initially mirror existing paper assessments to support fairness and comparability.

As the IB’s Director of Assessment explains:

“Ensuring fairness and comparability is our top priority.”

IB World Schools can access specimen digital examinations through the Programme Resource Centre in English, French and Spanish. These materials are intended to help teachers, students and schools become familiar with the digital format before live assessment.

A digital rehearsal should test more than subject knowledge. It should also test the actual device, login process, navigation, typing, question review functions, approved access arrangements, network reliability and the procedure for responding to a technical interruption.

The original Curriculum Compass article recommends three timed digital practices. That may be a useful school target, but the current public IB page does not prescribe one universal minimum number. Schools should schedule enough practice for the examination interface to stop competing with the knowledge being assessed.

5. Design the Feedback Before Students Sit the Mock

Feedback should not be invented once marking has finished.

Before the examination begins, the department should agree on who will mark each paper, which scripts will be moderated, when results will be returned, how errors will be classified and what students will be expected to do next.

This final point matters most.

Research on retrieval practice shows that testing can support later retention rather than merely measure current knowledge. Roediger and Karpicke wrote:

“Taking a memory test not only assesses what one knows, but also enhances later retention.”

The study was not conducted on full IB mock examinations, so it should not be treated as proof that any mock automatically improves results. It supports the narrower point that attempting to retrieve knowledge can contribute to learning, especially when the resulting gaps are identified and addressed.

Effective feedback helps learners understand the gap between current performance and the intended learning outcome. It becomes useful when students have time and a clear opportunity to act on it.

A post mock review should help each student answer four questions:

1. Where did I earn marks consistently?

2. Where did marks repeatedly disappear?

3. Was the cause knowledge, interpretation, timing or technique?

4. What specific practice will I complete next?

A simple review record can contain the question number, marks earned, reason marks were lost, corrected response and next practice task.

“Wrong answer” is not a diagnosis.

“Used relevant evidence but did not evaluate its reliability” is a diagnosis.

“Spent fifty minutes on the first response and left the second unfinished” is a diagnosis.

“Answered the topic but not the command term” is a diagnosis.

The original article recommends protecting one full lesson per subject for this work. Again, that is a school design recommendation rather than an IB rule. The precise structure can vary, but the review time should appear on the calendar before mock week begins.

A Practical IB DP Mock Planning Checklist

Before the mock timetable is published, confirm that:

1. The dates have been compared with IA, EE and TOK deadlines.

2. Every department has identified the current syllabus version.

3. Each paper matches the correct subject and HL or SL course.

4. Specimen materials will be used where current past papers are limited.

5. Every paper has a written assessment blueprint.

6. Markschemes and moderation arrangements are ready.

7. Grade boundaries are clearly labelled as indicative where appropriate.

8. Students know the paper format, duration and permitted materials.

9. Digital cohorts have practised with the appropriate devices and interface.

10. A feedback return date has been agreed.

11. Post mock analysis appears in the teaching calendar.

12. Follow up practice will respond to diagnosed weaknesses.

How Koncepts Supports the DP Mock Workflow

Koncepts brings DP paper practice, assessment, exam delivery and follow up into the same IB focused workspace.

The Koncepts DP Past Papers tool allows teachers to browse authentic DP papers question by question, with marks, command terms and markschemes. A teacher can use one question during a lesson or take a full selected paper into the examination workflow.

Exams and Proctoring supports timed windows, unlock codes, live status monitoring and optional locked conditions. Schools should apply these features in line with their safeguarding, accessibility and data privacy policies.

After the mock, the DP Assessment Generator can help teachers create targeted question sets, review per question performance and turn identified weak areas into follow up assignments. Questions, rubrics and markschemes remain editable before assignment.

The wider calendar can be supported through EE and TOK Supervision, which brings candidate milestones, drafts and meetings into one overview.

These tools support the workflow. They do not replace the school’s responsibility to verify the active guide, approve every paper, interpret the evidence and protect student workload.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Should IB DP Mock Exams Take Place?

The IB does not publish one universal mock examination period. Schools should choose a window that leaves enough time for marking, feedback, targeted teaching and further practice before the final examination session.

For schools in the May session, January or February is common, but the dates should be checked against IA, EE, TOK and university application deadlines.

Can a School Use Questions From an Older Syllabus?

Yes, provided each question is mapped to the active syllabus, current assessment objectives and paper structure.

An older individual question may still provide good practice. An unchecked paper from a discontinued course should not be presented as an accurate simulation of the current examination.

Should the Mock Grade Determine a Student’s Predicted Grade?

It can contribute to the judgement, but it should not determine it alone.

The IB states that predicted grades should reflect all available evidence and the teacher’s knowledge of IB standards. Coursework, classroom assessment, Internal Assessments and patterns across time may all be relevant.

Read IB Predicted Grades vs Final Results for a wider explanation of how predicted and final grades serve different purposes.

How Quickly Should Mock Feedback Be Returned?

The IB does not prescribe one universal turnaround period for school mocks.

The school should agree on a realistic deadline before the examination and return the feedback while students still have enough time to use it. A detailed analysis that arrives after the revision plan has moved on has limited practical value.

How Many Digital Practice Exams Do Students Need?

There is no universal number stated on the current public IB digital examinations page.

Students should receive enough realistic practice to become comfortable with the device, interface, navigation, timing and technical procedures. Schools should use the latest specimen digital examinations and guidance available through the Programme Resource Centre.

Better Mocks Begin Before Mock Season

A mock examination does not become useful by becoming longer, harder or more stressful.

It becomes useful when each part has a purpose.

The calendar prevents avoidable deadline collisions. The syllabus check protects the validity of the paper. The blueprint clarifies what the school is trying to diagnose. Digital preparation prevents format from obscuring understanding. Feedback turns a result into a revision decision.

That is the real gap between August and February.

One is when the school makes the decisions. The other is when teachers and students experience their consequences.

Explore the complete Koncepts toolkit for DP teachers to use DP past papers, create assessments, run timed exams, supervise EE and TOK milestones and turn assessment evidence into targeted follow up.

Sources and Further Reading

1. Koncepts LinkedIn post: The 5 August Decisions That Determine February Mock Success

2. The Curriculum Compass: The 5 August Decisions That Determine February Mock Success

3. International Baccalaureate: DP Assessment and Exams

4. International Baccalaureate: Curriculum Updates

5. International Baccalaureate: Sample and Specimen Papers

6. International Baccalaureate: Digital Examinations for the DP and CP

7. International Baccalaureate: IB Student Assessment

8. International Baccalaureate: Extended Essay Deadline Guidance

9. International Baccalaureate: Theory of Knowledge Deadline Guidance

10. Roediger and Karpicke: Test Enhanced Learning

11. Education Endowment Foundation: Teacher Feedback to Improve Pupil Learning

12. Koncepts DP Teacher Tools