International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a group of three educational programmes and their respective examinations, as established by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).

These three programmes are the following:

the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for pupils aged 3 to 12

the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for pupils aged 11 to 16

the Diploma Programme for pupils aged 15 to 19

The programmes are modelled after educational systems from around the world, without being based on any particular one, incorporating both the breadth offered by some as well as the early specialisation offered by others. Since their founding in 1968, their rigour and high standards have ensured their wide recognition throughout the world.

Diploma programme

This programme is intended for students in the final two years of secondary school – often before entering university. In many schools, one or two years of "Pre-IB" are administered before admission into the formal IB curriculum.

Upon its completion, students receive a diploma which may be useful in obtaining admission to institutions of higher education. This degree is regarded as a foreign diploma, so recognition varies widely depending on the university.

Particularly in the USA, some IB courses are recognised as equivalent to college level courses, and colleges may award entering students with credit for high IB exam scores. In this regard it is similar to the Advanced Placement Program, or superior to it, depending on the institute of higher learning in question. UCAS rates the AP programmes to be of GCE AS level difficulty, which is roughly equivalent to the standard level of IB Diploma subjects.

In other parts of the world, the IB Diploma is used only to assess a student's suitability to enter university. In some countries, for example Turkey or Peru, it is not considered equivalent to the national end-of-school examination scheme, usually because the IB Diploma is not as specialised or because certain subjects are not offered. A list of universities admitting the IB can be found on the IBO web site.

Grades are awarded from 1 to 7 in each subject, and 0 to 3 possible points for good results in the Extended Essay and the Theory of Knowledge class. Diploma students take 6 courses, and complete the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge class, for a total of 45 possible points per diploma. If candidates choose not to fulfil all parts of the programme, they can only receive a certificate. Resits are possible for a maximum of three times.

In order to qualify for the IB Diploma, the following requirements must have been met:

all six subjects have been awarded a numerical grade higher than 1

CAS has been completed

grade D or better has been awarded in at least one of the Extended Essay and TOK

if the overall score is 24–27, there is no grade 2 at HL and not more than one grade 2 at SL; if the overall score is greater than or equal to 28, not more than one grade 2 at HL and no more than two grades 2 at SL; altogether, there are no more than three grades 3 or below

at least 11 points (12 for overall score 24–27; 16/14 if four HL subjects are taken) have been gained on HL subjects, and 9/8 (6/5 if only two SL subjects are taken) on SL subjects

the candidate has not been charged with malpractice

If candidates take examinations or submit an extended essay in group 3 or 4 in a language other than their A1 language or if they take both a language A1 and a language A2 or two languages A1, they are awarded, on condition that they fulfil other criteria for the IB Diploma, a Bilingual Diploma. Candidates who take an additional, seventh subject in addition to their Diploma subjects are awarded a special type of certificate different from the one given to candidates failing or being examined only in certain subjects.

Syllabus

Subject areas

Students pursuing the Diploma take one course from each group, with at least three (but not more than four) taken at higher level (HL), and at least two (but no more than three) taken at the standard level (SL). Higher level subjects require approximately 240 hours of teaching time, and standard level subjects require at least 150. Students may also elect to take fewer IB courses - while these students do not receive the Diploma, they may still receive the Certificate of Merit with less stringent requirements.

Group 1: Language A1 – Generally the student's strongest language, and has been offered in over 80 different languages in the past. Students may elect to self-study a language of their choice at standard level in this category.
Group 2: Second Language – An additional language, taken either at A1, A2, B (SL or HL) or ab initio (SL only).
Group 3: Individuals and Societies – Humanities and Social Sciences, such as philosophy, economics, business and management, psychology, social anthropology, geography and history. At higher level, there are several different history classes – history of the Americas, Islamic history, and European history are also offered, generally dependent on the country the student is from.
Group 4: Experimental Sciences – Subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology, environmental systems and design technology.
Group 5: Mathematics – The subjects are mathematical studies SL (for students without the background for calculus), mathematics SL (precalculus and introductory calculus; formerly 'mathematical methods'), mathematics HL (calculus and statistics), and further mathematics SL (all remaining mathematics HL options). This group also includes computer science but this course is only an elective (and not a substitute for the other mathematics courses).
Group 6: Arts – Subjects such as visual arts, music and theatre arts.

Instead of a Group 6 subject, candidates may select an additional subject from Group 2, 3, 4, or 5. Regardless of the choice, the subject for this group is often colloquially referred to as the candidates' "sixth area."

All subjects are assessed using both an internal and external assessment, including final exams given world-wide in May (usually for Northern Hemisphere schools) and in November (usually for Southern Hemisphere schools). The nature of the internal assessments vary by subject. They count for 20 to 30 percent in each subject and are graded by a teacher in the school, a sample of at least five per subject per level also being graded by a moderator appointed by the IBO. The external assessment is assessed by examiners appointed by the IBO.

Extended essay

Students must write an essay of at most 4000 words (minimum 2500 to be marked, 3500 recommended minimum) in any chosen subject but not cross-subject (any topic that they feel is researchable, not necessarily one taken for the final exam) under a title they have chosen. This task involves independent research and requires producing a comprehensible written piece. Each student is paired with a mentor, usually a teacher or a professional in the field, who provides insight (and corrections) toward the final product. It is important to submit an extended essay, often abbreviated as EE, or the candidate cannot receive the IB diploma.

CAS

CAS is an acronym for Creativity, Action, Service. Each diploma student must complete at least 150 hours spread out over 1.5 years doing something creative, participating in sport or other physical activities, and doing community service/social work. The general guideline for CAS is to split it evenly among Creativity, Action and Service, hence a de facto requirement of 50 hours of each.

Theory of Knowledge

Each student must complete the Theory of Knowledge course (TOK) which aims to encourage students to be critical and to teach students basic epistemology. To complete requirements for TOK, diploma candidates must write a TOK essay of 1200–1600 words on a set title (from a choice of ten), and present a TOK issue to their class on their choice of topic. (See external links below for more information.)