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Context is Everything
September 5th, 2025
Context is everything.
And the IB Economics creators were (are) some of the most thoughtful educators ever to design curriculum.
So let’s think about it.
Whether it’s Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3, or the Internal Assessment, there’s a common assumption running through all of it.
And here it is:
The IB sees your students as economists.
In every task, the IB is saying:
“You are an economist. We want your professional opinion on a real-world economic policy. Show us what you know. Apply your theory. Use your knowledge. Tell us what you think.”
Their job is to write a policy paper—whether it's advising a government, evaluating a trade policy, analyzing inflation, or addressing unemployment.
And they’re being asked to do this using economic theory, real-world examples, and a clearly structured argument.
That’s the core of every assessment task.
And our job as teachers is to help them do it well.
To teach them the language.
To guide them through the diagrams.
To give them writing structures for analysis and evaluation.
To help them feel confident applying all of this in an exam setting.
When you see it that way, it becomes incredibly clarifying.
The IB Assumes They’re Ready
Here’s what I love about this framework:
The IB imagines these students as highly capable young economists.
By the time they sit down for the exams, the IB assumes:
- They’ve been taught all the required content.
- They’ve practiced the key skills: language, calculations, diagrams, analysis, and evaluation.
- They’ve been shown how to write an argument with structure and clarity.
The IB isn’t holding their hand. It’s saying: “We believe you can take what you’ve learned and do something meaningful with it.”
And that’s a pretty incredible opportunity.
So What Does This Mean for Us?
It means that every time you look at your students, those wide-eyed kids sitting in your classroom, you should be imagining them as economists.
Economists in training, yes.
But economists nonetheless.
Their role in every assessment is to:
- Take economic theory
- Pair it with a real-world scenario
- Write a policy-focused response
- Structure it clearly
- And show us what they can do
Our role is to teach them toward that professional identity, week by week, lesson by lesson.
So as you plan your lessons this month, take a moment to step back and think about the bigger picture. Help your students see what the IB sees in them.
Because when they begin to think of themselves as economists, not just students trying to get through a courss, the purpose of what they do becomes clearer.
They take the work more seriously.
They write with more purpose.
They start to own their learning.
And honestly?
That’s when it gets really exciting.
Good luck out there.
Be good to those kids.
See you next week.
Brad
Book a Custom Training for Your IB Faculty - If your school would like a tailored training on the updated Extended Essay guidelines, we’d love to help—onsite at your campus or live online—just send me an email at [email protected] and we’ll work together to make it happen.
Effectively Supervising the New Extended Essay - November 8th, 2025 - This focused and practical workshop is designed to help teachers confidently navigate the updated Extended Essay framework for the Class of 2027. Together, we’ll explore what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and how to effectively guide students through both the Subject-Focused and Interdisciplinary pathways.
Brad Cartwright
Educator | Speaker | Workshop Leader | Course Creator