UPDATED September 2020 :Many teachers in the Northern Hemisphere have already started or are about to start teaching the second year soon with their IB students either face-to-face or virtually. The IB have clarified how the examination session for May 2021 will proceed.

After all the concerns with how grades have been awarded for this year’s May session this is really helpful. The document issued by the IB states clearly that there will be no Paper 3 in the examination session and the 10 h Group 4 project has also been dropped.

This frees up approximately 35 hours teaching time for Higher Level and 25 hours of teaching time for Standard Level as there is no longer the need to cover the the options (SL 15 h, HL 25 h).   Strangely enough this dropping of the options is a foretaste of what is to come as the examinations for the new programme which will be first examined in May 2024 also have no Paper 3 as there are no options on the new programme. The document contains no further information about the IA for May 2021 and one can only assume that the relative weightings of the IA, and Papers 1 and 2 will remain the same but hopefully the IB will clarify this at some stage.

Update

In September 2020 the IB published "Updates for 2020-21: Learning, teaching and assessment. Further details for schools on the M21 adapted assessment". It clarifies the teaching required for the changes to the May 2021 examinations:

Chemistry adaptations (page 23)

SL and HL Paper 3 — removed

"With the removal of paper 3, students are no longer required to study one of the four options and instead can focus their learning on the core material, as section B of paper 3 focuses exclusively on Option material. In addition, there will be no formal assessment of the prescribed practicals or associated skills as normally found within section A of paper 3. It must, however, be stressed that experimental skill development is required to support the internal assessment and remains an important aspect of the subject.Impact on practical scheme of work. Given the extended nature of COVID associated disruption, it may prove to be challenging to complete the number of practical hours for DP sciences. Teachers are encouraged to continue explore with students as full a range of subject specific skills and techniques as is possible under the current circumstances. If students have access to technology, for example, any time spent on virtual tasks such as exploring simulations, extracting and analysing data from a database, or modelling exercises can all contribute towards the practical hours. Group 4 project — requirement removedThe completion of the group 4 project will not be a requirement and no evidence is expected to be collected. While some schools have already completed the group 4 project, other schools have faced challenges in completing this aspect of the course. We encourage schools to continue to organise the group 4 project as this is a valuable opportunity for students, enabling them to explore an area of their own choice and to develop important collaboration, critical thinking, inquiry and research skills."

There is also confirmation that “Retained examination papers will not be altered to include content from adapted or removed assessment components.” This is written on page 3.

As of now (September 2020) there appears to be no definite statement yet about how the weightings of the remaining three components will be adjusted. The relevant paragraph in the document (also page 3) is:

“Assessment weighting and scheduling: Where appropriate, the duration, marks and/or weighting for assessment components may be adjusted to ensure equity and fairness for students in the May 2021 session. Once finalised, official details for these adjustments will be provided through the Programme Resource Centre as well as directly via email to coordinators. The May 2021 examination schedule, including paper durations, is forthcoming and will be published on the Programme Resource Centre.”