Marks are awarded from 1 to 7 in each subject with 7 being the highest, and up to three additional points may be awarded depending on the results of the EE and ToK essays. The maximum possible point total in the Diploma Programme is 45. In order to receive an International Baccalaureate Diploma, candidates must receive a minimum of 24 points. There are a number of failing conditions which will prevent a student from being awarded a Diploma regardless of the points they received (such as non-completion of CAS, plagiarism, no EE etc). There are also several failing conditions which allow a student to achieve an IB Diploma. [3]
Candidates who successfully pass examinations in two language A1, or one language A1 and one language A2 courses and meet all the other criteria for successful completion of the Diploma Programme are eligible to receive a Bilingual Diploma. [4]
Students who complete individual IB courses and their final exams, but opt out of the full programme (or fail to complete it) do not receive the IB Diploma, but instead receive IB Certificates for each subject. IB Certificates are proof of having taken the exam and of the student's score on it.[citation needed]
Students who pursue the diploma take six subjects; one each from Groups 1 to 5 (below) with an additional subject from 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6.
A minimum of three subjects must be taken at higher level (HL) and the rest at standard level (SL). There must be no more than 5 subjects taken at a Higher Level, unless approved by the IB co-ordinator at the school. Higher level subjects require approximately 240 hours of teaching time, and standard level subjects about 150.
Students must write an essay of up to 4,000 words in any chosen subject (not necessarily one taken for the final exam, although it is highly suggested that the student have some familiarity with the topic) but not across subjects. All subjects have specific guidelines that must be followed in order for the Extended Essay to be considered. The topic may be any that the student feels is researchable. This task involves teacher guided independent research and requires producing a written thesis. Each student is paired with a supervisor who provides insight and orients his or her work. The Extended Essay must be submitted in order to receive the IB Diploma.
CAS is an acronym for Creativity, Action, Service. This extracurricular aspect of the IB Diploma involves student engagement in social work or community service (Service), participation in sports (Action), and initiative in creative activity (Creativity). The purpose of CAS is to encourage students to go beyond academic pursuits and experience life outside school. Each Diploma candidate completes 150 hours of CAS related activities over the period of the IB course, where 50 hours each are contributed towards Creativity, Service and Action. Students may increase the number of hours in each category as there is no limit, as long as they complete at least 50 hours in each of Creativity, Action and Service to make the minimum 150 hours. The hours of work completed are documented by the school using official forms (CAS/AEF Forms) which are submitted to the IBO by January of the final year of the IB course. The IB Diploma is awarded only upon successful completion of CAS.
Each student must complete the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course of at least 100 hours, which aims to encourage students to be critical thinkers 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 issued by the IBO), and present a TOK issue to their class on their choice of topic.
The grades that the student receives from the TOK essay and presentation are compared with the grade for the Extended Essay by way of a matrix designed by the IBO, which may result in the awarding of 'extra' or 'bonus' points for the candidate's Diploma. The candidate may get up to three extra points if both works are of a sufficient standard.
All subjects are assessed using both internal and external assessment, including final exams given worldwide in May (usually for Northern Hemisphere schools) and in November (usually for Southern Hemisphere schools). Each exam usually consists of two or three papers, generally written on the same or successive days [5]. The different papers may have different forms of questions, or they may focus on different areas of the subject syllabus. For example, chemistry Paper 1 has multiple choice questions, Paper 2 has extended response questions, and Paper 3 focuses on the 'option' topics which can vary according to the student's (or school's) preference. Re-sits for each paper (sat in the next exam session - November or May) are possible for a maximum of three times.
Each individual paper can take anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours, but usually they are between one and two hours in duration. Because of the large number of subjects being examined in one examination session (of less than a month in length), students often must write multiple papers in one day. The external assessment is judged by examiners appointed by the IBO.
The nature of the internal assessment (IA) varies by subject. There may be oral presentations (used in languages), practical work (in experimental sciences), or written works to be done at home. Internal assessment accounts for 20 to 50 percent of the mark awarded for each subject and is marked by a teacher in the school. A sample of at least five per subject at each level will also be graded by a moderator appointed by the IBO, in a process called external moderation of internal assessment.
The marks collected from the internal and external moderators are again standardized annually on a world-wide scale. The results from each year determine the grade-boundaries of that year. Therefore, the effect of variation in difficulty of exams is taken into account.
There are two types of award available in the IB Diploma Programme. A student can be awarded the full Diploma or Certificates of Merit in individual subjects. The usual pass rate for the IB Diploma Programme is approximately 80% internationally.[6]
In order to be awarded the full IB Diploma the following requirements must have been met:
A candidate may also choose not to take the whole Diploma, but to aim for a Certificate in a particular subject. Candidates doing certificates do not have to take part in the extra requirements of the Diploma (the Extended Essay, TOK and CAS). However, if taking World History (social studies certificate), the student is required to complete the Theory of Knowledge. Those candidates who complete extra courses in addition to a Diploma will also receive a Certificate.
In Canada and the United States, some IBDP courses are recognised as equivalent to university/college-level courses, and universities and colleges may award entering students with first-year credit depending on their points totals. In this regard it is similar to the Advanced Placement Program. Credit is only awarded for Higher Level Examinations.
In the United Kingdom, most universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, accept the IB Diploma as an alternative to A-levels and Scottish Highers. UCAS has created a tariff for IB points which will be in use from 2008 university entry onwards.
In some countries, such as Turkey or Peru, the IB Diploma 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. However, in Peru, various universities allow direct entrance to students who successfully completed the IB.
Other countries, such as Germany, set certain conditions for the IB Diploma to be convalidated (a foreign language at minimum A2 Standard Level, Mathematics standard level minimum, and at least one Science or Mathematics at Higher Level). Some universities, on the other hand, prefer the IB to the certificate which the students usually get in their own country. A list of universities admitting IB Diploma holders can be found on the IBO web site.[7]
In Australia, all universities accept results in the IB Diploma. Students with high scores in HL subjects may claim credit in their first year of university. Also, the University of Adelaide typically awards almost all IBDP graduates with at least four bonus SATAC points (two for completion of a foreign language, two for the completion of SL Maths or four for HL Maths, in line with students taking LOTE and Maths Studies or/and Specialist Maths in the local SACE program).
In Russia the IB diploma is accepted in most Universities (like MGU and MGMO), but conditions are set very high. For example, to study economics in MGU the IB student has to achieve an overall score of at least 36 points, including 6s in higher level subjects.
The UCAS tariff states that a score of 30 IB points (419 UCAS points) is roughly equivalent to 3 A-grades at A Level and 1 A-grade at AS Level (420 UCAS points), whereas the maximum score of 45 IB points (768 UCAS points) is roughly equivalent to 6 A-grades at A Level and 1 B-grade at AS Level (770 UCAS points)[8].
International Baccalaureate points convert to UCAS points as follows[9]:
IB Points UCAS PointsIB students offer a broader and well rounded education, although there is no evidence British universities prefer them over A-level students. IB students complete 6 subjects, whereas A-level students typically do 3 subjects (plus 1 subject studied at AS level carried over but often dropped at the end of the penultimate year). Higher Level subjects in the IB are generally seen as equivalent to full A-levels, although, the difficulty and amount of content of Higher Level Mathematics is held to be more substantial than the Maths A-level as it includes some Further Mathematics A-level material. Standard Level subjects in the IB are sometimes considered to be less challenging than full AS-level (this is particularly seen in foreign language qualifications). The Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay and CAS offered by IB students are also features not offered by A-levels (however, many colleges now offer both Critical Thinking and General Studies AS-levels to rival these). 36-37 Points in the IB is held equal to AAB at A levels by UK universities, though requirements for similar courses with similar A level requirements can vary widely.