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).
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.<ref>[http://www.ibo.org/diploma/recognition/directory/ University recognition directory]</ref>
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.<ref>[http://www.ibo.org/diploma/recognition/directory/ University recognition directory]</ref>
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 foregin 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).
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) is an educational programme examined in one of three languages (English, French or Spanish) and is a university entrance course. It is taught in 2,075 schools, often in international schools, in 125 countries (as of 2007). More than half of the schools offering the Diploma Programme are state funded schools. The programme, administered by the International Baccalaureate Organization, is the most widely recognized pre-university educational programme. However, it remains less popular than nationally affiliated preparatory programs in most countries, such as that of the Advanced Placement examination system in the United States and Canada, the A-level in the United Kingdom, the HSC (higher school certificate) in Australia or Advanced Highers system in Scotland.
Curriculum
The Diploma Programme (DP) curriculum consists of six subjects (see below), an Extended essay (EE), of up to 4,000 words, participation in the Theory of Knowledge (ToK), and a requirement of at least 50 hours in each area of CAS (Creative, Action, Service). Grades are awarded from 1 to 7 in each subject with 7 being the highest possible score, and up to three additional points may be awarded depending on the grade results of the EE and ToK essays. The maximum possible point score 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).
Candidates that successfully pass examinations in two language A1 courses and meet all the other criteria for successful completion of the Diploma Programme are eligible to receive a Bilingual Diploma.
Students may also take a limited number of subjects or opt out of some activities (such as ToK). These students do not receive the Diploma, but instead receive certificates for each subject passed.
Subject areas
Students pursuing the Diploma take six subjects; one each from Groups 1 - 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 cannot not be more than 4 subjects at a Higher Level. Higher level subjects require approximately 240 hours of teaching time, and standard level subjects about 150.
Group 1: Language A1 - Generally the student's strongest language, with over 80 different languages available. Students may choose to self-study a language of their choice at standard level if their fluent language is not taught by the school.
Group 2: Second Language - An additional language, taken either at A2, B (SL or HL) or ab initio (SL only). This group may also be replaced by a second A1 language.
Group 3: Individuals and Societies - Humanities and social sciences, such as philosophy, economics, business and management, psychology, social anthropology, information technology in a global society (ITGS), geography and history (or History of the Islamic World). At higher level, there are several different regionalised history classes, including History of the Americas, History of Europe, History of Africa, History of West Asia, and History of East and South-east Asia. The variant/s taught is usually largely dependent on the location of the school. In some schools it is possible to choose three subjects from this group and none from Group 4 with special permission from the IBO. File:IB model.gifThe components of the IB Diploma course
Group 5: Mathematics - The subjects are, in order of increasing difficulty, Mathematical Studies (SL), Mathematics SL, and Mathematics HL. Furthermore, Further Mathematics can be studied at SL in addition to a Mathematics HL course. This group also includes computer science but only as an elective (not a substitute for the other mathematics courses).
Students must write an essay of at most 4,000 words in any chosen subject (not necessarily one taken for the final exam) but not across subjects. 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 toward the final product.
CAS is an acronym for Creativity, Action, Service. Each DP student must complete at least 150 hours, spread out over at least one and a half years, engaging in creative activity, participating in sport or other physical activities, and doing community service or 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. The hours of work are to be documented by the school using official forms which are to be submitted to the IBO upon request. Failing to complete the CAS requirements will result in disqualification of a candidate from the IB Diploma. Some schools collaborate with each other and create school-wide or interschool CAS projects, such as the landmines initiative or "Read to Feed".
Each student must complete the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course of approximately 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' points for the candidate's Diploma. The candidate may get up to three extra points if both works are of a sufficient standard.
Assessment
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 successive days. 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.
Awards
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 70% internationally.
Diploma conditions
In order to be awarded the full IB Diploma the following requirements must have been met:
at least three subjects are completed at Higher Level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL).
should four subjects be completed at HL then only two need be completed at SL.
all six subjects have been awarded a numerical grade higher than 1, with a minimum total score of 24.
the CAS (Creativity - Action - Service; community service) requirement of 150 hours has been completed
the Extended Essay and TOK course have been completed and essays submitted.
additionally a grade D or better has been awarded in either the Extended Essay or 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 24, 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 12 points (12 for overall score 24-27; 16 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 final award committee has not judged the candidate to be guilty of malpractice
Certificates
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.
Recognition
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 for high IB exam scores. In this regard it is similar to the Advanced Placement Program.
In the United Kingdom, most universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, accept the IB Diploma as an alternative to A-levels and some universities actively prefer it to A-Levels. 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.[1]
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 foregin 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).
Issues in specific countries
United Kingdom
The UCAS tariff suggests that a modest 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)[2].
However, few if any universities follow the UCAS guidelines with regards to comparing IB points and A-Level grades - A university which might ask for 3 A grades at A-Level would often ask for 38 - 42 IB points (specifically Cambridge and Oxford). 36-37 Points in the IB is held equal to AAB at Alevels by UK universities and so on.
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The increasing attention being directed at the IB Diploma by universities has led many private schools to offer it in place of A-levels (due to the perennial national debate over A-level standards), though the political impossibility of placing elements of education policy in the hands of an outside body makes it unlikely that the IB would ever replace UK-based qualifications in the majority of schools; instead, there has been talk of creating an equivalent British baccalaureate programme (see the Welsh Baccalaureate, and the Tomlinson Report, which recommended a new baccalaureate system to replace A-levels). In 2008 the new Cambridge Pre-U examination is due to start and several prestigious public schools in Britain have already stated that they will run the course, which has caused some concern in the state sector. The Pre-U is likely to be a very strong contender in the field of secondary education: Cambridge is a major examining board both in the UK and around the world and its qualifications are backed by the prestige of the university; the Cambridge board has also designed the course in collaboration with several well known schools, such as Rugby, Shrewsbury and Dulwich College, keeping in mind the traditional strengths of the A level system of study in depth. In fact, the creation of the Pre-U responded largely to a demand to return to the "golden age" of A levels, when an A grade was a notable achievement. According to the British newspaper the Telegraph (07/07/2007) Ralph Townsend, the headmaster of Winchester College, has told parents that the school plans to drop A Levels, testing the Cambridge Pre-U in four subjects next year.
Since British university tutors still strongly believe that the specialist approach taken by the traditional A Level course is of greater value than the Continental Baccalaureate system, which offers greater range but less depth, the Pre-U qualification is likely to be much sought after by the higher-ranked UK universities, especially those in the Russell Group. The LSE has already stated officially that it will accept candidates with the Pre-U.[citation needed]
United States
In the US, the IB Diploma Programme is used to set students at an international standard level. Many colleges recognize participation in (and the passing of) IB examinations as college credits. The national average of candidates who receive their diploma is about 50%. [citation needed]
Many American colleges will only give college credit to students for taking higher level courses. The score required often depends on the competitiveness of the college. Most require a score of 5,6 or 7, while others will accept a 4 and some only give credit for a 6 or 7. Other schools, like Binghamton University, offer up to a year's credit for students who achieve a certain total score on the IB Diploma and will accept high SL scores for students who achieve the diploma. Comparisons are also made with the AP program. However, it is difficult to compare the two systems because IB is scored out of 7 and AP out of 5, and the stated purpose of AP is to earn university-level credit, while the IB is designed as a baccalaureate.
The state of Colorado enacted a law in 2003 that requires most public universities in the state to give a minimum of 24 college credits to any local diploma recipient. [3]
The IB programme has been cited as a crucial component of the American Competitiveness Initiative. The initiative calls for more teachers to be trained in the IB programme. It proposes offering incentives to teachers who teach IB courses and teachers who increase the number of students passing the IB exams.[4]
Many school systems in the United States have begun to use IB programs in order to draw the county's best students to schools in less affluent neighborhoods. The goal of many school systems is to use IB programs as a way to elevate the educational standards of schools that are struggling to meet the No Child Left Behind Act guidelines and local/state requirements. IB also offers a doorway for less affluent students to gain the credentials required for today's competitive entrance requirements to selective national colleges and universities. Also, by drawing many of the county's best students to the program, the school may be able to escape the plight of annual failing grades.
There have been recent complaints that many IB programs in the United States are placed in areas of less affluence, which by the location of IB programs in the southeastern United States seems to be true. The complaints are mainly based on the number of students which have to travel across other high school lines to attend these highly competitive and challenging magnet programs. Due to the number of students traveling from distant locations, many have argued for central placement of IB programs, though the result of this has yet to be seen.
India
In India, the IBDiploma is often seen as a 'passport' for the rich to gain entry into universities abroad. The schools which are allowed to take on this program are the international schools, which are privately funded and as a result are very expensive. In spite of this parents are willing to spend a lot on their child's education, hence the mushrooming of schools which offer the Diploma Programme. This is leading to an increase in the number of Indian Diploma students.[5]
