The Five Most Effective IB Economics Exam Review Strategies

April 12, 2024

If you're new here, welcome!

I am really excited to be sharing with you my thoughts on all things education both inside and outside of the classroom. Every Friday we will focus on something specific related to IB Economics or the IB Core, but other times we’ll touch on topics that hit us closer to the heart related to our roles as IB Educators.

My hope is that each week you find yourself enjoying what you are reading and hopefully taking something away for you and your teaching.

Most of all, thanks for being here.

So here we go…

With the IB Economics Exam only weeks away, I thought I’d share my thoughts on reviewing for the exam.

One of the things that popped out of my mouth years ago while preparing kids for the IB Exam was, “Hey, listen. Yes, all of the information in the two-year curriculum is important, but it’s not all equally important to your success on the exam.”

That was a turning point in my review strategies.

How I wished I had thought of that years earlier.

But that’s the joy of teaching—sometimes the clarity just pops out of your mouth.

First, a few things to keep in mind…

Keep these ideas in mind as you head towards preparing for review:

What are the most likely chapters of each section of the syllabus to show up on the exam?
What skills do the Papers reward most?
Not all of the content is equally important.
Look at the Papers and think about the most effective study strategies.

Then, take a deep breath and remember it is impossible to cover two years’ of content in a few weeks of review, so trust your gut and do the best you can do. That’s our main responsibility.

Here are five review strategies I’ve developed over the years:

Strategy #1: Focus on the Five Essential Skills

This is what you’ve been building since day one of year one for these kids. Remember, these skills are essential for student success because they are built using the IB Exam as a guide.

Here they are:

The Language: These are the key terms and concepts from the entire syllabus. These are the words the students must use in order to talk the talk of Economics. These are essential on all of the Papers. Quizlet wizardry time!
The Calculations: This is the math behind some of the concepts of IB Economics. These should have been taught in context as you went through the syllabus. The students must go back and know all of them—and be able to explain them in their economic context. These are most important on Paper 2 and Paper 3.
The Diagrams: These are the cheat sheets for the kids to remember the terms and concepts. The diagrams are critical. Hopefully, you’ve taught them using the Base Diagram Methodology which enables them to fully understand how they actually behave. The diagrams must be mastered—for Papers 1, 2, and 3.
The Analysis: Here’s where those writing structures come in handy. The analysis should be easy by this point if the students have a clear command of the language and the diagrams. If they do, they won’t freeze in the exam. If it’s helpful, here’s my analysis structure for Paper 1 and Paper 2.
The Evaluation: Again, it’s all about the writing structures you’ve taught them. I use the “Two Hand” method which ensures that the kid is thinking holistically. As I always say, “Evaluations are round. Present all sides. Then make a compelling judgment and trust it.” If it’s helpful, here’s my evaluation structure for Paper 1 and Paper 2.

Strategy #2: Keep it Simple

In my first cycle of teaching IB Economics, I differentiated my review sessions based on how I anticipated each student would do on the exam. This was a huge mistake. Don’t do that.

Instead, focus on mastery of the three most basic essential skills for everyone:

The Language
The Calculations
The Diagrams

Yes, I said for everyone.

Think about it. If every one of your students is highly proficient in the key terms, the calculations, and can draw any diagram, their analysis and evaluation will fall into place.

This was a weird step for me at first, but it has served me well because, no matter what the combination of questions, Paper 1 and 2 will force students to know all of the language, all of the calculations, and all of the diagrams.

And if they can draw it and talk about it with economic language, they are well on their way writing an effective analysis.

This has brought me so much calm over the years.

Strategy #3: Be Strategic

Remember this phrase: While all of the content is important, it’s not all equally important for student success on the IB Exam.

What exactly does this mean?

Well, here’s my strategy in three bullet points:

Mastery: Students must master The Language, The Calculations, and The Diagrams of the whole syllabus. No discussion here.
Go Deep in Two: If students do the above, then they can afford to “go deep” in only two of the three main sections of the syllabus—Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and The Global Economy. (Yes, only two of the three.) This means students know Real-Life Examples, know how to analyze, and know how to evaluate in two of the three areas of the syllabus. This strategy is built off hours of collective thought with students on how best to prepare. Because they only have to answer one of three questions on Paper 1 and only one of two questions on Paper 2, this strategy works really well for all Standard Level kids. It also works really well for High Level students because most of Paper 3 is built around knowing The Language, The Calculations, and The Diagrams. Pretty cool right?
Trust Your Writing Structure: Here is where it is essential to have taught highly effective analysis and evaluation structures throughout the course. With mastery of the language and diagrams, students should be able to thrive here too.

Strategy #4: Build Confidence

This is huge during review. Start at the beginning. Start at the beginning. The beginning. Two years of information is organized in sequential order in students’ minds. So, leverage that. Reinforce that.

Start with Microeconomics. Begin with the diagrams. Review each of them clearly. Literally just the drawing. Then have them practice drawing them. From there, point out all of the economic language they need to access to write about these diagrams. Boom! You’ve just hit the diagrams and the language. Have them study vocabulary every night. Focus on the application of the language and the diagrams in class.

Then move to Market Power. Repeat.

Then move to Macroeconomics. Repeat.

The Global Economy. Repeat.

All along the trail, build confidence and calm. Build confidence by showing them how mastery of The Language and The Diagrams is the path to killer analysis and evaluations.

These kids are incredible. Make sure you tell them that. Often.

Strategy #5: Trust Your Teacher Gut

I write a lot about trusting what I call “your teacher gut”. You know what I mean.

It’s that part of you that somehow guides you toward good ideas and engaging lessons. What’s it saying to you? Most of the time our guts are right.

Trust it. Go simple. Seek joy. Build confidence.

You know better than anyone else what is best for your students.

What’s your gut telling you?

Trust that fully.

You got this!

As you head into the last few weeks with your seniors, remember these Five Review Strategies:

Strategy #1: Focus on the Five Essential Skills
Strategy #2: Keep it Simple
Strategy #3: Be Strategic
Strategy #4: Build Confidence
Strategy #5: Trust Your Teacher Gut

They have served me exceptionally well over the years, and I hope they help you too.

Lastly, don’t forget that you've given them the gift of knowledge over the last two years, now time to watch them fly!

And that feels so good.

See you next Friday.