A fall check-in with your DP2 cohort should identify which students are on track, detect manageable problems early, and assign clear actions before coursework, applications, mocks, and examinations converge. For most May-session schools, the most useful window is September-November. November-session schools should apply the framework earlier and use any fall meeting as a final readiness review.
The process should combine cohort data, teacher evidence, student reflection, and short individual conversations. It should examine subject performance, internal assessments, the extended essay (EE), theory of knowledge (TOK), creativity, activity, service (CAS), university planning, academic integrity, and wellbeing.
Define the purpose of the DP2 check-in
By the end of the process, the coordinator should know:
- Which students are making secure progress across subjects and the core
- Which students have one contained problem or several connected risks
- Whether school deadlines are visible, realistic, and appropriately sequenced
- What intervention will happen, who owns it, and when it will be reviewed
- Whether each student's workload is sustainable
Distinguish official requirements from school recommendations. Students must complete required DP assessment components and satisfy the core requirements, but the IB does not prescribe one universal calendar for every draft, conference, or internal checkpoint. Coordinators should verify current requirements through applicable IB procedures while using local deadlines to create a workable schedule.
Collect evidence before the meeting
Ask subject teachers, the CAS coordinator, EE supervisors, the TOK teacher, counsellors, and university advisers to update one shared record. Include:
- Recent subject attainment and the evidence supporting it
- Missing work, attendance concerns, and repeated late submissions
- IA progress and the next school deadline in each subject
- EE milestones, supervisor contact, and unresolved obstacles
- TOK progress and upcoming assessed work
- CAS experiences, reflections, evidence, and project status
- Application deadlines requiring predictions or references
- Wellbeing concerns affecting sleep, attendance, concentration, or completion
Avoid relying on one percentage or test. IB subjects use internal and external assessment, and final grades are awarded on a 1-7 scale. Several pieces of recent, criterion-relevant evidence provide a better picture than an unweighted average of every mark since DP1.
Use a simple cohort dashboard
A dashboard should reveal patterns without reducing complex students to one colour. Treat each status as a prompt for professional review, not an automatic judgment.
| Area | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects | Stable or improving | One significant weakness | Several declines or insufficient evidence |
| Coursework | Milestones met | One manageable delay | Multiple missed milestones or authentication concern |
| EE and TOK | On schedule | Specific obstacle | Major work incomplete |
| CAS | Evidence current | Documentation needs attention | Completion at risk |
| Wellbeing | Routines sustainable | Stress affects some work | Distress, absence, or exhaustion |
| Planning | Deadlines understood | Clarification needed | Imminent deadline at risk |
Do not average these categories into one overall colour. A serious wellbeing or academic-integrity concern requires action even when every other field is green.
Run a focused cohort session
A 35-45 minute cohort session can clarify expectations before individual meetings. Use a one-page planning sheet or digital self-audit and follow this agenda:
- Explain that the check-in prevents surprises and coordinates support rather than ranking students.
- Display school deadlines for IAs, the EE, TOK, CAS, applications, mocks, and examination preparation.
- Explain predicted grades as teacher forecasts based on evidence and knowledge of IB standards. They are not guaranteed final grades or rewards for effort.
- Ask students to classify every subject and core component, cite evidence, and identify the next action.
- Map the next four weeks to expose workload collisions.
- Confirm how students can contact teachers, supervisors, counsellors, learning-support staff, and the coordinator.
The RevisionDojo guide to IB predicted grades can clarify how predictions differ from final outcomes. A grade calculator may support scenario planning, but it cannot replace teacher judgment or official school predictions.
Hold short individual conferences
Prioritize students with multiple amber indicators, any red indicator, or a mismatch between teacher evidence and student self-assessment. A structured 10-15 minute conference is usually sufficient when evidence has been collected beforehand.
Ask what has improved since DP1, where marks are being lost, which deadline poses the greatest risk, what task the student is avoiding, and whether the current routine is sustainable. End with no more than three actions, each with an owner, completion date, and evidence of completion.
“Work harder on Biology” is too vague. A useful action would be: “Complete a timed data-analysis set, classify the errors, and review the results with the teacher by 18 October.”
Match interventions to identified problems
| Problem | Appropriate first response |
|---|---|
| Content gap | Targeted reteaching followed by retrieval and application practice |
| Weak exam technique | Timed questions, command-term analysis, and feedback |
| IA delay | Dated stages with permitted teacher support clarified |
| EE blockage | Supervisor conference on one research or writing obstacle |
| CAS documentation gap | Scheduled evidence and reflection update |
| Deadline overload | Staff review and temporary reprioritization |
| Anxiety or exhaustion | School counselling, safeguarding, or wellbeing referral |
RevisionDojo's IB study features, including Questionbank, Study Notes, Flashcards, and Mock Exams, can support targeted practice. The objective is fresh evidence of learning, not another large task for an overloaded student.
Review academic integrity and wellbeing
Fall is an appropriate time to revisit academic integrity because students are drafting assessed work. Students must submit authentic work and acknowledge material derived from other sources, including AI tools.
Ask students to explain their argument, method, sources, and revisions in their own words. Review version histories where appropriate and apply the school's current policy. The official IB academic integrity policy explains authentication responsibilities and the risks of unacknowledged AI-generated material.
Third-party feedback remains supplementary. The RevisionDojo Coursework Grader can provide criterion-linked feedback, but teachers retain responsibility for permitted support, authentication, and school judgments.
Wellbeing should be integrated into the review. Watch for deteriorating attendance, repeated all-night work, inability to begin tasks, withdrawal, panic, or decline across several subjects. The IB's wellbeing research supports a systemic approach, while serious concerns should follow school safeguarding and referral procedures.
Follow up and avoid common mistakes
Review actions within 10 school days, or earlier for urgent cases. Ask whether the action was completed, what evidence it produced, and whether support should stop, continue, or escalate. Family communication may be appropriate under school policy; the IB parent checklist offers a practical structure.
Avoid treating predicted grades as the entire review, exposing individual information publicly, setting too many targets, ignoring the core, or waiting for mock results before intervening. Hours spent studying do not prove progress, and generic deadlines may overlook congestion caused by particular subject combinations.
Conclusion
An effective fall DP2 check-in combines reliable evidence, a visible calendar, student reflection, focused conferences, and prompt follow-up. It separates IB requirements from local recommendations and treats academic, core, integrity, application, and wellbeing risks as connected concerns.
RevisionDojo can support targeted action plans through Questionbank practice, Study Notes, Mock Exams, Jojo AI, and coursework feedback. Select tools according to the specific evidence identified rather than applying the same intervention to every student.
Sources and referenced URLs
- IB Diploma Programme assessment overview
- IB student assessment and predicted grades
- IB Diploma Programme general regulations for 2026
- IB academic integrity policy
- IB wellbeing research
- IB examination schedules
- RevisionDojo guide to IB predicted grades
- RevisionDojo Grade Calculator
- RevisionDojo IB study features
- RevisionDojo Coursework Grader
- RevisionDojo IB parent checklist