Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about using IB Marker for your IB studies.
General Questions
IB Marker is an AI-powered study platform designed specifically for International Baccalaureate students. It provides thousands of IB-style questions across all subjects, instant AI feedback on your answers, progress tracking, and gamification features like university badges and leaderboards to make studying more engaging.
Which IB subjects are supported?
IB Marker currently supports a wide range of IB subjects including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics (AA and AI), Economics, Business Management, Psychology, English, History, and more. We're continuously adding new subjects and expanding our question bank.
Is IB Marker aligned with the IB curriculum?
Yes! All questions are designed to match IB curriculum standards and assessment criteria. Our AI marking system follows official IB marking guidelines to provide feedback that reflects what real IB examiners look for in student responses.
Can I use IB Marker on my phone?
Yes, IB Marker is fully responsive and works on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. You can practice questions and review feedback on any device with a web browser.
Practice & Questions
How many questions can I practice per day?
Premium subscribers and verified students have unlimited access to all questions. This allows you to practice as much as you need without restrictions.
What's the difference between Practice Mode and Exam Mode?
Practice Mode is untimed and provides instant feedback after each question. It's perfect for learning and understanding concepts at your own pace.
Exam Mode simulates real IB exam conditions with time limits. You complete all questions first, then receive feedback for the entire exam. This helps you prepare for the pressure of actual exams.
Can I practice specific topics?
Yes! When starting a practice session, you can choose to practice questions from specific topics within a subject, or let the system select questions from across the entire syllabus. This flexibility helps you focus on areas that need more work.
How are question difficulties determined?
Questions are rated using a 4-component difficulty scoring system that considers: conceptual depth, mathematical complexity, multi-step reasoning required, and domain expertise needed. The system adapts to your performance level over time, presenting appropriately challenging questions.
What does the difficulty percentage (0-100%) mean?
The difficulty percentage represents a question's percentile ranking compared to all questions in that subject. A 75% difficulty means the question is harder than 75% of questions in the database. Use the filter slider in Practice Mode to select questions within your comfort zone - start around 30-50% and gradually increase as you improve.
Why do my simulated exams have different difficulty levels?
IB Marker uses adaptive difficulty to personalise your exams. Based on your recent exam scores (last 2-5 exams), the system places you in a performance tier and selects questions accordingly:
- Advanced (85%+): Questions from 60th-100th percentile
- Proficient (70-84%): Questions from 40th-85th percentile
- Intermediate (55-69%): Questions from 25th-65th percentile
- Foundation (<55%): Questions from 0-50th percentile
This keeps you in your optimal learning zone - challenging enough to grow, but not so hard that you get discouraged.
How often should I take simulated exams?
We recommend 1-2 simulated exams per week per subject. This frequency allows the adaptive system to accurately track your progress while giving you time to review feedback and practice weak areas between exams. Closer to your actual IB exams, you might increase to 2-3 per week to build stamina under timed conditions.
Social & Multiplayer
What can I do with my profile?
Your profile is your public identity on IB Marker. You can customize your display name, showcase up to 3 university badges you're proud of, and track your statistics. Other students can view your profile to see your achievements, total XP, and leaderboard rankings. Your profile also shows your study streak and subject preferences.
Can I add friends on IB Marker?
Yes! You can send friend requests to other students you know. Once connected, you can see each other's progress, compare stats, and view when friends are online. Friends appear on a dedicated friends leaderboard, making it easy to have friendly competition with classmates or study partners.
How do leaderboards work?
Leaderboards rank students by XP earned. There are three timeframes: Daily (resets at midnight), Weekly (resets every Monday), and All-Time. You can filter to compete globally, within your school, or just among your friends. Your position updates in real-time as you earn XP from practice, exams, and multiplayer.
How does multiplayer mode work?
Multiplayer mode lets you compete against other students in real-time. Select a subject and join the matchmaking queue. Once 2 or more players are matched (usually within 10 minutes), everyone votes on which question to answer. Then you all answer the same question under time pressure, and scores are compared at the end. It's a great way to test yourself under competitive conditions!
How much time do I get to answer in multiplayer?
Time is calculated based on the question's mark value: (Total Marks × 75 seconds) + 10 seconds. For example, a 4-mark question gives you about 5 minutes and 20 seconds. The voting phase lasts 20 seconds plus additional time for longer questions. Everyone gets the same time, so it's a fair test of speed and accuracy.
How do I manage my notifications?
Your dashboard notification bell shows 8 types of alerts: friend requests, messages, game invitations, class invitations, milestone completions, new assignments, exam results, and assignment due reminders. To manage these:
- Click the bell icon to view all notifications
- Click individual notifications to act on them or mark as read
- Go to Settings > Notifications to enable/disable specific notification types
You can customise which notifications you receive without affecting your account functionality.
University Badges
What are university badges?
University badges are achievements modeled after real universities from around the world. We feature over 20 universities across different continents and prestige levels - from internationally renowned institutions like Oxford, MIT, and the Sorbonne to excellent national and regional universities. Each university has milestones aligned with subjects and skills those institutions are known for, making it a fun way to explore different academic paths!
What university tiers are available?
Universities are organized into 4 prestige tiers representing different levels of challenge:
- Elite Tier: World-renowned institutions (Harvard, Oxford, MIT, Cambridge) - the most challenging milestones
- National Tier: Leading national universities with global recognition
- State Tier: Strong regional institutions known for specific programs
- Regional Tier: Excellent local universities - a great starting point for beginners
Start with Regional tier badges to build confidence, then work your way up to Elite as your skills improve!
How do badges help guide my progress?
Each university badge has specific milestones that act as structured learning goals. Rather than practicing randomly, you can work toward unlocking badges by completing targeted challenges - like answering a certain number of questions in specific subjects, achieving minimum score thresholds, or mastering particular topics. The milestones are designed to encourage well-rounded preparation across your IB subjects.
What are the badge levels?
Each university badge has 6 progression levels: Basic → Gold → Elite → Master → Platinum → Legendary. As you complete more milestones, you advance through levels. Each level unlocks a passive XP multiplier that boosts all future XP gains: Basic (1.0x), Gold (1.2x), Elite (1.4x), Master (1.6x), Platinum (1.8x), Legendary (2.0x). Higher levels mean faster progression!
Badge combos reward students who earn badges from multiple related universities. For example, reaching Yellow level at both Oxford and Cambridge unlocks the "UK Elite" combo, while progressing at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford might unlock an "Ivy+ Pioneer" combo. Combos grant permanent XP bonuses (5-25%) that stack with your badge multipliers, rewarding diverse achievement.
What is the prestige system?
Once you reach Black level (the highest) on a university badge, you can "prestige" to reset and climb again with a prestige tier. Prestige tiers progress through Bronze → Silver → Gold → Diamond → Transcendent, each providing additional XP bonuses. This creates infinite progression for dedicated students who want to keep challenging themselves and maximizing their XP multipliers.
Can I display badges on my profile?
Yes! You can select up to 3 badges to showcase on your public profile. Choose badges from universities you're particularly proud of or that represent your academic interests. Other students can see these when they view your profile or encounter you on leaderboards - it's a great way to show off your achievements and academic focus.
AI Marking & Feedback
How accurate is the AI marking?
Our AI marking system achieves 88-93% agreement with human IB examiners (Cohen's kappa 0.8-0.9, indicating "excellent agreement"). The system is fine-tuned on thousands of real IB examples with official marking rubrics. For most questions, AI marks fall within ±1 mark of what a human examiner would award, making it highly reliable for practice and revision.
What AI technology powers the marking?
We use state-of-the-art large language models (70+ billion parameters) specifically optimized for educational assessment. Different subjects use specialized models: mathematics questions use models with advanced reasoning capabilities (97%+ accuracy on math benchmarks), while sciences use models with strong self-verification that can check their own logic. All models are fine-tuned on IB-specific content and marking criteria.
What kind of feedback do I receive?
Our AI provides significantly more detailed feedback than typical human marking - studies show AI feedback averages 166 words compared to 23 words from human graders. For each answer, you receive: a criterion-by-criterion breakdown tied to the rubric, specific strengths with mark allocations, targeted improvement suggestions, and a model answer demonstrating full-mark responses. The feedback explicitly explains why marks were awarded or deducted.
How does the AI handle different IB subjects?
We use subject-specific AI configurations optimized for each discipline:
- Mathematics: Step-by-step reasoning with working shown, matching IB's requirement to demonstrate methodology
- Sciences: Self-verifying models that catch calculation errors and explain experimental analysis
- Computer Science: Code-specialized models that understand algorithms, time complexity, and design patterns
- Humanities: Strong reading comprehension with extended context for essays
- Languages: Multilingual reasoning (not just translation) across 29+ languages
Can I dispute or get my answer re-marked?
AI marks are for learning purposes and aren't final grades. The real value is in the detailed feedback explaining the marking decisions. If you still believe the feedback given is incorrect, you can flag the response, but there are no opportunities for remarks. For edge cases, our system is continuously improved through teacher feedback and human review of sample assessments.
Does the AI understand diagrams and drawings?
Currently, our system primarily evaluates text-based responses. For questions requiring diagrams, focus on your written explanations. We recommend practicing diagram-based questions with your teachers for visual components while using IB Marker for written response practice.
How is marking consistency ensured?
Unlike human examiners who may vary in strictness, our AI delivers deterministic, consistent marking. The same answer will always receive the same mark and feedback. The system uses pinned model versions (no auto-updates that could change behavior), fixed rubric integration, and reproducible inference settings. This consistency helps you accurately track your progress over time.
Subscriptions & Pricing
What's included in the free tier?
The free tier includes: 2 questions per day, access to basic progress tracking, and the ability to earn XP and badges. It's a great way to try IB Marker before deciding to subscribe or get school access.
How much does premium cost?
Individual student premium costs $4.99 per month and includes unlimited questions, full exam mode access, detailed analytics, and all gamification features. Schools can purchase institutional subscriptions for better per-student pricing.
Can I cancel my subscription anytime?
Yes, you can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings. You'll continue to have premium access until the end of your current billing period. There are no cancellation fees.
Does my school have a subscription?
Ask your IB coordinator or IT administrator if your school uses IB Marker. If your school has a subscription, they'll provide you with a school code to enter during signup or in your account settings, which unlocks premium features at no cost to you.
Schools & Teachers
How can my school get IB Marker?
Schools can request access by contacting us through the school admin dashboard. We offer volume pricing based on student count, with options for annual or multi-year subscriptions. Schools receive a unique code to distribute to students and teachers.
Can teachers see student progress?
Yes! Teachers with school accounts have access to class dashboards showing aggregate student performance, practice activity, and areas where students may need additional support. This helps teachers identify topics that need more attention in class.
Can teachers assign specific practice?
Teachers can recommend specific topics for students to focus on. The platform supports self-directed learning where students choose their practice, while teachers can guide them through the available topics based on class progress.
How do I enter or update my school code?
If your school has an IB Marker subscription, you can link your account to get premium access:
- During signup: Enter the school code when prompted
- After signup: Go to Settings > School Access and enter your code
- To update: If your code expires or changes, use the same Settings page to enter a new one
School codes are provided by your IB coordinator or IT administrator. If you don't have one, ask them if your school has an institutional subscription.
Technical Issues
The AI feedback is taking a long time. Is this normal?
AI feedback typically takes 5-15 seconds depending on answer length. During peak usage times, it may take slightly longer. If feedback takes more than 30 seconds, try refreshing the page. For exam mode, batch marking may take a few minutes for the complete set.
I forgot my password. How do I reset it?
Click "Forgot Password" on the login page and enter your email address. You'll receive a password reset link within a few minutes. Check your spam folder if you don't see it. Reset links expire after 24 hours for security.
My progress isn't showing. What should I do?
First, try refreshing the page or logging out and back in. Progress updates may take a few seconds to sync. If the issue persists, clear your browser cache. Your data is saved on our servers, so it won't be lost - it's likely a display sync issue.
Which browsers are supported?
IB Marker works best on modern browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge (latest versions). We recommend keeping your browser updated for the best experience. Internet Explorer is not supported.
Can I delete my account and data?
Yes, you have full control over your data. To delete your account:
- Go to Settings > Account > Delete Account
- Confirm your password and the deletion request
- Your account and all associated data will be permanently removed within 30 days
This action is irreversible - all your progress, badges, XP, and practice history will be deleted. If you're part of a school subscription, this won't affect other users or the school's subscription.