International Baccalaureate Diploma
General Description
The IBO Diploma Program is a comprehensive and rigorous two-year curriculum leading to international external examinations for students at the end of their final two years of the ACS Athens Academy. The general objectives of the International Baccalaureate Organization are to provide students with a balanced education, to facilitate geographical and cultural mobility, to promote international mindedness, and to promote international understanding through shared academic experiences.
Each IB Diploma candidate studies from six subject groups. Three subjects are studied at the Higher Level and three at the Standard Level. Students must take a course from each of the first 5 subject groups and have the option to choose either a course from the 6th group or from any of the other groups, except Group 5.
The six subject groups are:
Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature (Language A)
Group 2: Language Acquisition (Language B or Ab initio, second language)
Group 3: Study of Individuals and Societies
Group 4: Experimental Sciences and Computer Science
Group 5: Mathematics
Group 6: Visual Arts, Theatre (or another course from group 1, 2, 3, or 4)
Three further requirements which contribute to the unique nature of the Diploma are:
A Theory of Knowledge class, which unites the various areas of studies and deals with the ways humans perceive the world. This course provides an opportunity for serious reflection about all of an individual’s studies. Students are required to write a 1600 word essay during their senior year.
A 4,000 word Extended Essay (EE) based on original research and chosen by the candidate from one of the six subject groups.
The Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) requirement met through student engagement in various co-curricular activities which involve artistic expression, creative projects, physical activity, and community service.
At ACS Athens several courses combine the level of the IB curriculum in the first year, giving students a chance to become thoroughly acquainted with the subject before deciding which exam (SL or HL) to pursue in the second year. The only exception is Mathematics where the selection of Higher or Standard level is made at the beginning of the program.
Admission to the IB Diploma Program
Conditions for admission to the IB Diploma Program (IBDP)
To be admitted to the IB Diploma Program
Student must have no grade lower than a C in each of the grade 10 subjects of English, Math, Science (Chemistry or Physics), History and a language other than English. (The grade in Biology 9 may also be used for those interested in IB Biology.)
Student must have no serious discipline/academic integrity issues in grade 10.
Student must complete a 300 – 500 word personal statement in which they explain how they will benefit from the IB program and how this program will help them achieve their University goals.
Conditional admission
If students do not meet these requirements and still wish to be admitted, then the student may be offered a conditional admission after a review of their case by the Director of IB and AP and IB admission's committee.
The progress of all IB students, including those admitted conditionally, will be evaluated at the end of the first semester of year 1. ACS Athens grades will be converted to IB grades based on a scale of 1-7 in order to calculate IB requirements for continuing in the program. The following conditions must be met:
IF
these grades add up to 24 points or more
student does not have any grades of 1 or 2
student has at most one grade 3
THEN the student will be allowed to continue in the program.
What does failing the requirements mean?
This means not meeting the grade 10 requirements by half a grade i.e. having a C- in one or more courses. There will be exceptional cases such as, for example, a student who is very good in Humanities but weak in Math or Science with grades that might be lower even than a C- in these subjects. These exceptional cases will be dealt with on an individual basis and may result in a conditional acceptance.
Note that:
There is an additional tuition fee for this two-year program as well as a registration fee to take the May examinations at the end of the second year that cover the costs of the examinations to the IBO.
ACS Athens and IBO fees
IB schools offering the IB Diploma program face both fixed and variable costs payable to IBO. The variable costs involve course exam registrations and any optional services requested by the students in relation their examinations.
All ACS Athens IB Diploma students pay a flat fee for the two years of the IB program. The IB Diploma Course students pay only a prorated fee based on the number of courses they take. The ACS Athens IB Diploma program fee is paid in the beginning of each year. The exam registration fee (approximately €1,000 Euro for the IB Diploma students) is an additional fee paid during the IBO registration in November of year 2.
Assessment of student work in the IB Diploma
Delivery of IB courses must meet the IBO (International Baccalaureate Organization) course specific requirements as they are stated in each IBO subject guide. Student work is designed and assessed using the IBO assessment criteria. IB Diploma or Diploma Course students, in addition to their in-class IB assessments, must sit for formal mock exams in June of year 1 (grade 11) and in February of year 2 (semester 1 grade 12). Mock exams follow the IB examination protocol and schedule. Mock examination papers are graded by ACS Athens faculty and IB scores are converted to the ACS Athens grade scale.
Year 1 assessment of IBO student work (internal assessment, tests, projects, essays, mock exams) using the IBO scale (1-7) is included in the end-of-year student report card under the PG (Predicted Grade) column. The PG score constitutes the academic performance prerequisite for all year 2 IB classes.
Criteria to continue to IB YEAR 2
Transition from year 1 to year 2 of the program:
You will have received an IB grade of 1-7 based on the work of year 1 and the final exam in June. To enter year 2 you must have:
a total minimum grade of 24 points for the 6 courses you have taken;
no grades of 1 or 2 in any subject;
at most one grade 3;
for the courses selected at Higher Level, the grade must be 4 or higher;
a 2,500 word EE draft by the first week of September.
Awarding of the IB Diploma
In May of each year, students, after having completed their two-year program, sit for externally assessed examinations, which are graded on a 1-7 scale: 7 being the highest mark awarded. Students also complete a number of internally and externally assessed or moderated projects, papers, presentations and/or performances in each course. These assessments constitute a percentage of the final IB score in each course.
The IB Diploma is awarded by the IBO if:
CAS requirements have been met.
The candidate’s total points are 24 or more.
There is no “N” (non-submission of work) awarded for Theory on Knowledge, the Extended Essay, or for a contributing subject.
There is no grade "E" awarded for Theory of Knowledge and/or the Extended Essay.
There is no grade 1 awarded in a subject/level.
There are no more than two grade 2s awarded (HL or SL).
There are no more than three grade 3s or below awarded (HL or SL).
The candidate has gained 12 points or more on HL subjects (for candidates who register for four HL subjects, the three highest grades count).
The candidate has gained 9 points or more on SL subjects (candidates who register for two SL subjects must gain at least 5 points at SL).
The candidate has not received a penalty for academic misconduct from the Final Award Committee.
College applications and grades for AP and IB courses
May examination scores are released in early July from the IB examinations. A frequently asked question by both parents and students is, “How do colleges offer admissions to students prior to the release of the examination results?” U.S. colleges base admissions on a number of criteria (grades, difficulty of program, SAT scores, co-curricular activities, essays, teacher recommendations, and IB/AP Predictions). UK universities admit students based on predicted IB scores, which teachers submit in the fall of the senior year. All teachers use key IB assessments of the first and second year to determine predicted IB grades in each subject. It should be noted that the predicted grade may deviate from the ACS Athens grade, which is more holistic and includes assessments other than those set by the IBO. These additional assessments make up the ACS Athens student profile. For example, it is likely that a student with an ACS Athens grade of A in a course be given an IB prediction of 6 instead of a 7 or a 4 instead of 5 for an AP course.
We list below the individual course criteria used by teachers to form their IB score predictions in order to assist parents and students in academic planning.
IB Predicted Scores
Calculation of the IB grade
The IB grade on a scale of 1 – 7 will be calculated as follows: ACS Athens creates grade boundaries for each IB subject based on the average of the IB subject reports from the previous few years. These boundaries change slightly from year to year, which is why an average is taken. The end of year percentage grade based on quizzes, tests and exams only, will then be converted to a 1 – 7 grade based on the grade boundaries of the subject. These will be different from subject to subject. The conversion of ACS percentage grades to an IB grade as described occurs three times: at the end of the first semester of year 1, at the end of year 1, and at the end of the first quarter of year 2.
IB prediction in October of year 2
There will be one major assessment in September of year 2 in all subjects. This applies to all students. This means that the summer between years 1 and 2 must be spent preparing for this assessment as well as working on the EE and, depending on the subject, IA’s. The grade of this test will be used along with the year 1 grade to determine the preliminary IB prediction (80% year 1 + 20% September/October test). This will be a 1 – 7 grade calculated based on subject report grade boundaries.
