The Exams and Earning the IB Diploma
To earn the IB diploma, students must take one "exam" (consisting of multiple components) in each of six broad academic fields, called subject groups. These are then scored for a final grade of 1-7, as outlined below. The six subject groups are as follows:
Students can take more than six exams, but only six (and only one per subject area) can count toward their IB diploma candidacy. Any additional exams will contribute to a students total college credits earned, but will not count towards the mechanism that earns the IB diploma.
There are two basic reasons that a student would take more than six exams:
- Group 1 - Language A - primary language literature
- Group 2 - Language B - secondary language acquisition (Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, or Latin)
- Group 3 - Social Sciences (at Stanton, this is IB Contemporary History)
- Group 4 - Experimental Sciences (one of Biology, Physics, or Chemistry)
- Group 5 - Mathematics
- Group 6 - Fine Arts, or a second Group 2, Group 3 elective, or Group 4
Students can take more than six exams, but only six (and only one per subject area) can count toward their IB diploma candidacy. Any additional exams will contribute to a students total college credits earned, but will not count towards the mechanism that earns the IB diploma.
There are two basic reasons that a student would take more than six exams:
- The student is interested in more than six IB subjects. For example, a student could take two experimental sciences and IB Visual Arts. In these cases, the student must declare upon registration in October (not after scores are released) which of the three courses is "additional." Colleges do not know or care--they only care how you do on the exam--but it can matter if you do poorly on one of the two exams that you counted toward your diploma and well on the additional subject.
- The student takes the Standard Level exam for a subject in 11th grade and then decides to take the Higher Level exam in that same subject in 12th. In this case, the student must decide (once again, upon registration, not after scores are released) whether the HL exam score will replace the SL, or if it will be registered as an "additional" subject.
The IB Exam Itself
Overall Scoring
A student earns a score from 1-7 on an IB exam. 4 and above is passing and may earn college credit - depending on the schools credit acceptance policy. Here's an informal way to conceptualize the performance based on the final score:
1 - The student mainly slept, doodled, or left blank the exam papers. This can also be a failing condition for the entire IB diploma.
2 - The student gave up on the subject at some point in the class (generally pretty early in the class). This can also be a failing condition for the IB diploma.
3 - The student failed to learn some fundamental concept(s) of the course.
4 - The student learned enough to participate in an intelligent discussion within in the field.
5 - The student learned enough to lead an intelligent discussion within the field.
6 - The student has mastered the content of the course.
7 - The student has mastered the content of the course AND demonstrated exceptional understanding of its most complex subtleties.
Standard and Higher Levels
For nearly every IB subject, students may choose either a Standard Level (SL) or Higher Level (HL) exam. As one would guess, the difference between the two is a matter of depth and thoroughness of examination; here at Stanton students sitting for each exam are taught in the same class, and all are prepared for the Higher Level test. IB requires that diploma candidates take either three or four HL exams. Students may only take more than 4 HL exams in special circumstances - so be certain to discuss with me if you think that applies to you (and, no, "because I would like to" does not qualify as a special circumstance).
Inside the Exam
IB exams consist of two essential parts:
The Internal Assessments
This is where the "international" in International Baccalaureate is legitimized. Between August and March of each year, there are certain 'IB exam assignments' called Internal Assessments (generally referred to by stressed out students as IAs) that the IB teachers collect and grade. The IB coordinator then enters all of the students' overall scores on these assignments to IB, which then asks for a random sample of specific high, mid-level, and low scorers' assignments to be re-graded by a moderator, generally another IB teacher in that subject. Based on that sample, the moderator may increase, decrease, or leave unchanged the students' scores for all students in each score group. The moderator can in effect say, "You were a little hard on the low scores--those kids did a few points better--accurate with your average students, and a little nice to your highest performers; I ticked them down a point."
For whatever reason, Stanton students tend to stress about these IAs melodramatically way more than they meticulously follow the specific IB rubric for them. Procrastination and careless oversights like failing to include a word count cost students points, and the IA represents 20-30% of the students overall exam grade. If a student struggles in an IB course, particular care should be taken to maximize the IA score. There is no reason at all that a student should get a failing grade on an IA - but many do because of the debilitating effects of procrastination.
The External Assessments
By the time a Stanton student completes 9th grade, she will know first-hand what the exam papers in May are like through the experience of the AP World history exam. Broadly speaking, IB exams differ from AP exams in two ways: they lean way more on free-response rather than multiple choice, and they offer more individual choice within the test, e.g., on IB Contemporary History's Paper 2, the student gets to pick any two out of 30 possible essay prompts.
More than test prep books, or almost any other study aid, the most helpful thing that a student can do to prepare for the IB external assessments is to look at past exam papers. Stanton teachers will show them to students, your IB Coordinator may have copies of them, and they can easily be found via Google, on reddit, or through other file sharing devices. The IB may also have sample papers and sample exams available for use.
Example search for finding an exam:
A student earns a score from 1-7 on an IB exam. 4 and above is passing and may earn college credit - depending on the schools credit acceptance policy. Here's an informal way to conceptualize the performance based on the final score:
1 - The student mainly slept, doodled, or left blank the exam papers. This can also be a failing condition for the entire IB diploma.
2 - The student gave up on the subject at some point in the class (generally pretty early in the class). This can also be a failing condition for the IB diploma.
3 - The student failed to learn some fundamental concept(s) of the course.
4 - The student learned enough to participate in an intelligent discussion within in the field.
5 - The student learned enough to lead an intelligent discussion within the field.
6 - The student has mastered the content of the course.
7 - The student has mastered the content of the course AND demonstrated exceptional understanding of its most complex subtleties.
Standard and Higher Levels
For nearly every IB subject, students may choose either a Standard Level (SL) or Higher Level (HL) exam. As one would guess, the difference between the two is a matter of depth and thoroughness of examination; here at Stanton students sitting for each exam are taught in the same class, and all are prepared for the Higher Level test. IB requires that diploma candidates take either three or four HL exams. Students may only take more than 4 HL exams in special circumstances - so be certain to discuss with me if you think that applies to you (and, no, "because I would like to" does not qualify as a special circumstance).
Inside the Exam
IB exams consist of two essential parts:
- Internal Assessments (IA) - significant, subject-specific assignments that are graded by the Stanton classroom teacher and then externally moderated (more on that below). You can think of these as "projects". The vast majority are completely independent.
- External Assessments - written essays or traditional standardized test papers in May. There are 2-3 per subject. The Fine Arts have specific requirements for their External Assessments, which must not be taken lightly even through they are not traditional exams.
The Internal Assessments
This is where the "international" in International Baccalaureate is legitimized. Between August and March of each year, there are certain 'IB exam assignments' called Internal Assessments (generally referred to by stressed out students as IAs) that the IB teachers collect and grade. The IB coordinator then enters all of the students' overall scores on these assignments to IB, which then asks for a random sample of specific high, mid-level, and low scorers' assignments to be re-graded by a moderator, generally another IB teacher in that subject. Based on that sample, the moderator may increase, decrease, or leave unchanged the students' scores for all students in each score group. The moderator can in effect say, "You were a little hard on the low scores--those kids did a few points better--accurate with your average students, and a little nice to your highest performers; I ticked them down a point."
For whatever reason, Stanton students tend to stress about these IAs melodramatically way more than they meticulously follow the specific IB rubric for them. Procrastination and careless oversights like failing to include a word count cost students points, and the IA represents 20-30% of the students overall exam grade. If a student struggles in an IB course, particular care should be taken to maximize the IA score. There is no reason at all that a student should get a failing grade on an IA - but many do because of the debilitating effects of procrastination.
The External Assessments
By the time a Stanton student completes 9th grade, she will know first-hand what the exam papers in May are like through the experience of the AP World history exam. Broadly speaking, IB exams differ from AP exams in two ways: they lean way more on free-response rather than multiple choice, and they offer more individual choice within the test, e.g., on IB Contemporary History's Paper 2, the student gets to pick any two out of 30 possible essay prompts.
More than test prep books, or almost any other study aid, the most helpful thing that a student can do to prepare for the IB external assessments is to look at past exam papers. Stanton teachers will show them to students, your IB Coordinator may have copies of them, and they can easily be found via Google, on reddit, or through other file sharing devices. The IB may also have sample papers and sample exams available for use.
Example search for finding an exam:
Finally, for an in-depth breakdown of how the IBO goes from the raw scores on the separate components of the exams to a score from 1-7, click here for the iBlog entry on the subject.
The IB Exams and the Diploma
The easiest way to remember the diploma requirements for the exams is to recognize that a 4 is passing on an IB Exam, and a student must average a passing score across all six exams, i.e., 24 points (6 exams x 4 points). So a student can earn all 4s except for a 3 on one and a 5 on another and still earn the diploma. There are many different ways for the maths to add up, however, there are some rules that must also be applied.
The exception to the above--the HLs
The International Baccalaureate Organization thinks of the Higher Level exams that a student takes sort of like that student's majors; these are the courses that a student really should know. As a consequence, a student must average 4s on their HLs and cannot earn a 1 or 2. So a student who earns all 4s except for a 3 on an SL and a 5 on an HL will still earn their diploma, BUT the other way around will fail to earn the diploma, i.e., straight 4s except for a 3 on an HL and a 5 on an SL. So every student should take care to leverage their strengths with the selection of which exams they will take at the Higher Level.
Students have a slight incentive to register for 4 HL exams. A student with 4 HL exams will count their top 3 scores towards the 12 point total. In other words, a student who has HL English, History, Biology, and Chemistry needs to get 12 points from the best 3 courses, and has a small amount of wiggle room with one of the 4 exams.
Let's say this imaginary student receives a 5 on English, and a 3 in Biology and Chemistry. If they are registered in History HL and receive a score of 4 (or more), they will still be on track for earning their IB diploma. However, if they are registered for History SL, they will only have totaled 11 HL points and will not.
Three Ways to Earn Perfect Scores on All Exams and Still Not Receive the IB Diploma
The IB Diploma is not just about the exams, so students must keep in mind that preparing for May is not their only IB responsibility. A student can still fail to earn the IB diploma despite earning perfect scores by doing any one of the following three things:
Up until May of 2015, a student could still earn the IB diploma if he failed either ToK or the Extended Essay provided that he earned 28 or more points on his exams. However, the IBO no longer extends any such provision; presumably they deemed intolerable a student dismissing ToK or the EE because he was certain that he would surpass the 28 point threshold.
The exception to the above--the HLs
The International Baccalaureate Organization thinks of the Higher Level exams that a student takes sort of like that student's majors; these are the courses that a student really should know. As a consequence, a student must average 4s on their HLs and cannot earn a 1 or 2. So a student who earns all 4s except for a 3 on an SL and a 5 on an HL will still earn their diploma, BUT the other way around will fail to earn the diploma, i.e., straight 4s except for a 3 on an HL and a 5 on an SL. So every student should take care to leverage their strengths with the selection of which exams they will take at the Higher Level.
Students have a slight incentive to register for 4 HL exams. A student with 4 HL exams will count their top 3 scores towards the 12 point total. In other words, a student who has HL English, History, Biology, and Chemistry needs to get 12 points from the best 3 courses, and has a small amount of wiggle room with one of the 4 exams.
Let's say this imaginary student receives a 5 on English, and a 3 in Biology and Chemistry. If they are registered in History HL and receive a score of 4 (or more), they will still be on track for earning their IB diploma. However, if they are registered for History SL, they will only have totaled 11 HL points and will not.
Three Ways to Earn Perfect Scores on All Exams and Still Not Receive the IB Diploma
The IB Diploma is not just about the exams, so students must keep in mind that preparing for May is not their only IB responsibility. A student can still fail to earn the IB diploma despite earning perfect scores by doing any one of the following three things:
- Failing the ToK class/assessments
- Failing the Extended Essay
- Failing to complete the CAS program
- Failing to complete any single component of an exam (i.e, not turning in the IA or not sitting for a paper 2).
Up until May of 2015, a student could still earn the IB diploma if he failed either ToK or the Extended Essay provided that he earned 28 or more points on his exams. However, the IBO no longer extends any such provision; presumably they deemed intolerable a student dismissing ToK or the EE because he was certain that he would surpass the 28 point threshold.