Specifics about the IB program

Different Courses

The IB diploma programme is composed of the IB core and six subject groups, the core consists of

Theory of Knowledge
Extended Essay
Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS)

You can choose one subject in the six categories except for math as a certificate. And as a diploma six subjects are required. You have to take a course from group 1-5 you may take a course from group 6 or take a second course from group 4 instead.

The six subject groups are:

Studies in Literature
Language Acquisition
Individuals and societies
Sciences
Mathematics
The Arts

The Core:

Theory of Knowledge

Creativity, Activity, Service

Extended Essay

Available Courses at Dr. J:

1) Studies in Literature:

Language A: Literature HL (English)

2) Language Acquisition:

Language B (French) SL & HL

Language A: Literature SL (Non-English Self Study)

3) Individuals and Societies

History SL & HL

Psychology SL & HL

4) Sciences

Chemistry SL & HL

Biology SL & HL

Physics SL

5) Mathematics

Mathematics Analysis and Approaches (AA) SL

6) The Arts

Music SL & HL

Art SL & HL

Self Study:

If you are a student that is multilingual, instead of taking a course from group 2, Language Acquisition, you can take the Language A: Literature SL course in your mother tongue. You need to have an adult that can act as a tutor you in your mother tongue. If you pass this course with a 3 or higher you will be given a Bilingual IB Diploma.

An example: You are an exchange student from Spain, you speak Spanish and English. If you can find a tutor fluent in Spanish you can take a Literature SL course in Spanish instead of taking the French course.

Length of Courses

All SL and HL courses are 2 years, the only exceptions are Biology SL and French SL. You "test out" of these courses after a year which means if you are a grade 11 in the 2025-2026 school year you write your exams in May of 2026.

Diploma vs Certificate

The 3 core subjects, TOK, EE and CAS are only available to full diploma students, as well as the math course. All other courses are available for students to take a certificate in.

Graduation

In order to graduate with a Diploma you need to satisfy the following criteria

Have at least a total amount of 24 points.
Have a total of 12 points in your HL courses.
Have at least a D in both EE and TOK.
Have satisfied the CAS requirements.
Has not acquired a 1 in any course.
Having fewer than one 2.
Having fewer than three 3's.

Grading System

The IB uses a unique grading system to ensure equal criteria across the globe. You will be graded out of 7 which is the best grade. All of the grades are considered as points and then they are added together from all 6 courses you will take. TOK and EE can give you up to 3 bonus points. In total you can acquire 45 points.

The only exceptions to this are TOK and EE which are graded on a letter based scale from E to A. The boundaries for extra points can change each year and can most likely be found with a simple google search.

The Core Explained

When you take the full IB diploma, you have to take the 3 core courses, Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service.

Theory of knowledge is a class taken in the second semester of the 1st year and the first semester of the 2nd year. This course is the study of knowledge and learning about you as a knower. There are two evaluated assignments the Exhibition which you present in the 1st year and the Essay which you write in the 2nd year.

Extended Essay is an essay you will write over the course of the second semester in the 1st year and first semester of the 2nd year. This essay's topic can be on anything as long as the Extended Essay Coordinator gives you the Ok.

Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS). In order to pass CAS, you need to write reflections on extracurricular activities you do throughout the 18 months of your IB journey. These extracurricular activities need to satisfy at least one of the CAS strands, Creativity (The arts like band, dance or art club) Activity (sports) and Service (Volunteer work). There isn't a limit or minimum of how many activities and reflections you have to write, although the recommended amount is at least 3 so one activity per strand.

Soft Landings

If at the end of the year, you feel that the full IB diploma is to much to handle, you can take a soft landing, this means your credits from the first year would be transferred to the NS diploma. For example if you took IB English and scored a 4 at the end of grade 11 you would get an English 11 credit with an 80% as the final mark. You would still need to satisfy the requirements for a regular NS diploma

Predicted Grades and IA's

While you are enrolled in the program your grades will be based on "predicted grades" your teachers write. These are the grades you will receive on report cards and the NS transcript when you graduate. You can access your actual exam scores in July. The way your final grade is calculated is 80% Exam and 20% Internal Assessment. The exams are usually split into Paper 1 and Paper 2, some courses may have a paper 3. Your Internal Assessment is a project done in all courses in different forms, more information will be given when you enroll since each has different criteria depending on the course.

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