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International Baccalaureate Curriculum
From The Student RoomTSR Wiki > Study Help > Exams and Qualifications > International Baccalaureate > International Baccalaureate Curriculum
CurriculumThe Diploma Programme (DP) curriculum consists of completing six courses from six different subject areas, writing an Extended Essay (EE) of up to 4,000 words, taking part in the Theory of Knowledge(TOK) class, and fulfilling a requirement of 50 hours in each of the Creative, Active and Service (CAS) pursuits. Grades are awarded from 1 to 7 in each subject, and up to three 'bonus' points may be awarded depending on the grade results of the EE and TOK. Thus, a total of 45 points may be obtained by the candidate for their final diploma. In order to receive an International Baccalaureate Diploma you must receive a minimum of 24 points. If candidates study in a language other than their native language (i.e. their language A1), they may receive a Bilingual Diploma. If students choose not to fulfil all parts of the programme they can receive 'subject certificates' for the IB classes they take. Subject areasStudents pursuing the Diploma take six courses, usually from six different subject areas (detailed below), with three (or four) of them taken at higher level (HL) and the rest at standard level (SL). Higher level subjects require approximately 240 hours of teaching time, and standard level subjects about 150.
Extended EssayStudents 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 independent research and requires producing a comprehensible written piece. Each student is paired with a supervisor, who provides insight toward the final product. It is essential to submit an Extended Essay, often abbreviated as EE, or the candidate cannot receive the IB Diploma. CASCAS 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 minimum amount of hours to be spent on any one part of CAS is 25 hours. 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. Theory of KnowledgeEach 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 sufficiently good standard. Without the extra points, it is still possible to achieve the Diploma, but not with the full 45 points. AssessmentAll 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. Resits 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 amount of subjects being examined in one examination session (of less than a month in length), students often have to write multiple papers in one day. The external assessment is assessed by examiners appointed by the IBO. A common practice by schools is to hold mock exams, using exams from a previous year's session to introduce students to the examination process. This is also used to determine predicted grades required by IBO prior to assessment. Another common practice is to allow the students a study leave for independent study without scheduled lesson time. The nature of the internal assessment (IA) varies by subject. They 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 moderated on a world wide scale. The results of every particular year determine the grade-boundaries of that year. Therefore the effects of very easy or very difficult exams are taken into account, however, very good year groups might receive lower marks than expected as the boundaries are drawn up, and vice-versa, less successful year groups may receive higher marks than expected. IB Subject List | 
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