Going into your final IB year, the most effective strategy is to finish major coursework early, identify how your school calculates predicted grades, and replace passive revision with assessed, timed practice. Predicted and final grades are related, but they are not calculated in the same way: teachers predict likely achievement from available evidence, while final grades come from the IB assessment components completed for each course.
Your priority is therefore to build two forms of evidence. Before predicted-grade deadlines, produce consistently strong school assessments and coursework. For final examinations, develop durable subject knowledge, accurate exam technique, and the ability to perform under time pressure.
Understand what determines each grade
The IB defines a predicted grade as a teacher's prediction of the grade a candidate is expected to achieve, based on evidence of the student's work and the teacher's knowledge of IB standards. It should be an accurate professional judgment, not a reward for effort or improvement alone.
However, schools decide which evidence informs their internal prediction process. They may use end-of-year examinations, final-year tests, coursework, mock examinations, class performance, or a combination of these. Ask each teacher or your DP coordinator what evidence will count, when the prediction is finalized, and whether later results can still affect university-facing forecasts.
Your final subject grade is determined from the weighted assessment components specified for that course. These can include examinations, internal assessments, oral work, performances, portfolios, or externally assessed coursework. Exact formats and weightings vary, so use the current subject guide or official subject brief for your examination session rather than relying on an older student's experience.
Goal
Main evidence
Best immediate action
Raise predicted grades
Tests, mocks, coursework, class evidence and school policy
Clarify deadlines and demonstrate consistent performance
Raise final grades
Officially weighted assessment components
Study according to component weighting and mark allocation
Protect the diploma
Six subjects, TOK, EE and CAS completion
Audit every requirement and deadline
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Predicted grades do not normally become part of the mathematical calculation of your final subject grades. A high prediction can support an application, but it cannot compensate for weak assessed work or examinations.
Start with a final-year academic audit
During the first week, create one page for each subject containing:
Your current working grade and target grade
Every assessment component and its weighting
Your most recent raw marks from reliable assessments
Three weakest syllabus areas
Recurring errors, such as weak evaluation, missing working, or poor timing
Coursework status and internal school deadline
The next assessment that can influence your prediction
Then classify subjects as secure, borderline, or at risk. A borderline subject deserves particular attention because a modest improvement in raw marks may move it across a grade boundary. Use historical boundaries only as planning ranges because boundaries can vary by subject, component, session, and paper difficulty.
RevisionDojo's IB Grade Calculator can convert representative practice marks into an estimated diploma outcome. Treat the result as a planning model, not an official forecast, and update it only when you have new timed evidence.
Build evidence for stronger predicted grades
A conversation with each teacher should be specific rather than confrontational. Instead of asking, “How can I get a 7?”, ask:
Which criteria currently keep my work below the next grade?
Which upcoming assessments will inform my predicted grade?
Is my main weakness knowledge, application, evaluation, communication, or timing?
What would stronger evidence look like in this subject?
Act on the response visibly. If your mathematics teacher identifies incomplete reasoning, show complete working in every subsequent task. If an essay subject requires deeper evaluation, practise qualified judgments that compare evidence and address limitations.
One excellent performance may look anomalous, while several strong performances establish a pattern. Aim for consistent evidence at the target standard, especially in controlled assessments that resemble the final examination.
Finish coursework without sacrificing exam preparation
Internal and externally assessed coursework can secure marks before the examination period, but its importance differs between subjects. Check the official weighting, rubric, page or word restrictions, permitted teacher feedback, and submission requirements for your course.
Use a criterion-based editing process:
Read one criterion and identify exactly where your draft demonstrates it.
Highlight claims that lack evidence, explanation, or evaluation.
Remove material that does not help answer the research question or task.
Check calculations, labels, citations, formatting, and required appendices.
Ask for feedback within the limits set by your teacher and school.
The RevisionDojo Coursework Grader can provide rubric-organized feedback on IA, EE, and TOK drafts. It should supplement authorized teacher feedback, not replace your teacher's interpretation of the current guide. You remain responsible for verifying every suggestion and writing the submitted work yourself.
The IB permits responsible use of AI tools, but AI-produced material is not automatically your own work. Any included AI-generated material must be acknowledged appropriately, and your school may impose additional rules. Use Jojo AI to clarify a concept, generate retrieval questions, or diagnose a practice response rather than to produce text for submission.
Use a revision cycle that changes performance
Rereading and highlighting can create familiarity without proving recall. A stronger cycle is:
Learn briefly, retrieve from memory, answer an exam-style question, mark it strictly, classify the error, and retest it later.
Use the RevisionDojo IB resource hub for syllabus-aligned Study Notes, Flashcards, and Questionbank practice. Jojo AI can explain an error, but compare its guidance with your teacher's instructions and the relevant markscheme.
Keep an error log with five categories:
Error type
Correct response
Knowledge gap
Relearn, retrieve, then test
Method gap
Study a worked process and repeat it independently
Command-term gap
Rewrite the response to match the required task
Evidence or analysis gap
Add precise support and explain its significance
Timing gap
Practise shorter timed sections and improve allocation
A useful weekly pattern is three targeted question sessions, two retrieval sessions, and one timed paper or substantial paper section. The RevisionDojo exam-preparation workflow explains how Study Notes, Flashcards, Questionbank practice, Mock Exams, and Predicted Papers can support this sequence.
Move from topic practice to full examination performance
Early in the year, practise by topic because it isolates weaknesses. As mocks and final examinations approach, increase mixed and timed work so that you must identify the required method without being told the topic.
Mark practice using the correct paper's markscheme and record raw marks rather than simply writing down a grade. For essays and extended responses, compare your answer with the assessment criteria and ask a teacher to calibrate your self-marking. The IB's official grade descriptors clarify the broad qualities associated with different achievement levels.
Do not complete paper after paper without correction. Detailed review of one paper usually produces more improvement than rushing through several. A reliable prediction should come from multiple timed attempts, as explained in this guide to predicting an IB score from practice evidence.
Protect the core and diploma requirements
The diploma is not awarded from total points alone. The official DP passing criteria require at least 24 total points, completion of CAS, grades in all required components, and satisfaction of the other minimum conditions involving subject grades and HL and SL totals.
TOK and the EE are graded from A to E and together contribute up to 3 core points. CAS does not add points, but successful completion is required. Keep CAS evidence current and finish the EE and TOK work early enough to avoid losing examination preparation time.
A practical order of priorities
When several deadlines compete, use this order:
Prevent missing or unauthenticated required work.
Complete high-value coursework before internal deadlines.
Prepare for assessments that influence imminent predicted grades.
Repair foundational gaps that affect several topics.
Build timed examination consistency.
Refine already strong subjects once major risks are controlled.
Protect sleep, exercise, and realistic breaks. Removing them may create more study hours temporarily, but reduced concentration and memory make those hours less productive. A sustainable plan executed for months is more valuable than repeated emergency revision.
Conclusion
To maximize predicted grades, learn your school's evidence policy, meet every deadline, and demonstrate the target standard consistently in assessed work. To maximize final grades, understand component weightings, complete coursework carefully, practise active recall, and convert mistakes into targeted timed practice.
RevisionDojo can help organize that process through its Questionbank, Flashcards, Study Notes, Mock Exams, Coursework Grader, Grade Calculator, and Jojo AI. Use the tools selectively, beginning with the weakest assessment component that can still change your outcome.
Olivia holds an MSc in Research Methods in Psychology and has taught IB Psychology for 15 years alongside work as a research consultant. Her focus is IB Psychology Paper 1, 2, and 3, closing the description-to-evaluation gap and strengthening the internal assessment's method section. Having attended the IB's latest Psychology workshops, she understands how best to smoothly map the previous curriculum to the new one.
