For IB coordinators and Maths teachers
Free Maths IA resources for schools
If your school has an IA page, a library guide or a Maths department site, you are welcome to link to any of these. They are free, need no login or email, and are written for students to use alongside your own teaching and deadlines.
What you can link to
- Examiner checklist (PDF) — Every check for Criteria A–E in plain English, the mistakes that cost the most marks and a self-assessment grid. Students can download the PDF directly — no email required. Direct PDF link.
- Timeline planner — Students enter your school's internal deadline and get a dated 16-week plan (compressed sensibly if there is less time), a calendar file and a printable planning template. Worked out in the browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
- Criterion guides A–E — One guide per criterion: what the top band looks like, common mistakes and a checklist. Written for the current criteria (first exams 2021 to 2028).
- AI and academic integrity — How students can use AI tools within the IB's academic integrity policy, what is not acceptable, and how to acknowledge tool use. Useful to link next to your school's own AI policy.
- Criteria self-grade sheet — The descriptors with a checklist students can use to grade their own draft before they hand it in.
- IA ideas library — 153 ideas, each with a research question, the mathematics needed for AA/AI and SL/HL, checked data sources and pitfalls — a starting point for students' own questions.
How teachers use them
- Link the checklist and the timeline from your school's IA page or LMS (ManageBac, Toddle, Google Classroom, Moodle…). The snippets below are ready to paste.
- Print the checklist for your cohort or share the PDF in your course. Please keep the author line on it.
- Set your internal deadline first, then send students to the timeline planner with it: everyone gets the same stages with their own dates.
- Use the AI and integrity guide alongside your school's own policy; your school's rules come first.
Link to them from your IA page
Copy any of these into your school website, library guide or LMS. Plain links, no scripts or tracking.
A text link for your IA page
<a href="https://ibmathrevision.com/ia/examiner-checklist">Free Maths IA checklist from an IB examiner (A–E)</a>The PDF itself (no email)
<a href="https://ibmathrevision.com/ia/ia-examiner-checklist.pdf">Maths IA examiner checklist (PDF)</a>The timeline planner
<a href="https://ibmathrevision.com/ia/timeline-planner">Maths IA timeline: a dated plan from your deadline</a>A short resource list
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ibmathrevision.com/ia/examiner-checklist">Maths IA checklist (A–E)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ibmathrevision.com/ia/timeline-planner">IA timeline planner</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ibmathrevision.com/ia/ai-and-academic-integrity">Using AI honestly in the IA</a></li>
</ul>Launching the IA with a class?
The free IA launch lesson pack is a slide-by-slide outline for a 50-minute first lesson on the exploration — criteria A–E, choosing a topic and AI use — with a timeline template for your class.
Frequently asked questions
Can we link to these resources from our school website or LMS?
Yes. Link to any page or to the checklist PDF directly. You don't need to ask permission or tell us, though we're always glad to hear how a school uses them.
Can we print the checklist for our students?
Yes, for your own students. Please keep the author line on it and don't sell it or re-publish it as your own.
Do students need an account or an email address?
No. The guides, the timeline planner and the checklist PDF are open. Giving an email is optional and only needed if a student wants the short series of IA tips.
Are these IB materials?
No. They are written by Pete Bromfield, a practising IB Mathematics IA examiner, for IB Math Revision. They are not affiliated with or endorsed by the IB; your teacher and the IB's own guide remain the authority.
Which criteria do they follow?
The current Mathematics AA and AI criteria A–E (exams up to 2028). Students who start the Diploma in August 2027 will use new criteria; the pages will say clearly when that guidance is added.
Spotted something out of date, or want to tell us how your school uses these? Get in touch.