Feature
IB, seeds of the
enlightened future
Sabiha Mahmud Sumi
 EDUCATION is like a giant tree. Such a tree nourishes its seeds fully with all the ingredients needed for it to be dispersed into the earth. For this seed to grow on its own, it needs the perfect ingredients. A programme that could be used as an ideal example of a giant tree would be the International Baccalaureate (IB). This IB Diploma Programme is one of the most prestigious and renowned programmes for grade 11 and 12 students. It leads to a qualification that is widely recognized by the world's leading universities. However, it remains less popular than nationally affiliated preparatory programmes 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 Higher system in Scotland. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) is an educational programme examined in one of three languages (English, French or Spanish) and is a leading university entrance course. It is taught in 2,075 schools, often in international schools, in 125 countries all around the globe. More than half of the schools offering the Diploma Programme are state funded schools. Therefore, this programme is an expensive yet spectacular educational curriculum.
The Diploma Programme (DP) curriculum consists of six subjects, an Extended Essay (EE), participation in the Theory of Knowledge (TOK), and a requirement of at least 50 hours in each area of CAS (Creative, Action, Service). Marks are awarded from 1 to 7 in each subject with 7 being the highest, and up to three additional points may be awarded depending on the results of the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge essays. The maximum possible point total in the Diploma Programme is 45. The pass score is 24 although there are a number of failing conditions which will prevent the student from being awarded a Diploma regardless of the points they received such as non-completion of CAS, plagiarism, non-submission of the Extended Essay or the TOK essays etc.
The curriculum consists of six groups of subjects within which students are allowed to choose courses according to their majors and interests. Such courses can be taken in two particular levels, Higher Level and a Standard Level. The curriculum also consists of an Extended Essay which is a research essay of 4000 words based on one chosen subject. The students are also required to complete 100 hours of Theory of Knowledge course, which aims to encourage students to be critical thinkers and to teach students basic epistemology. Furthermore, there too is CAS which is an extracurricular aspect of the IB Diploma involving students engagement in social work or community service (Service), participation in sports (Action), and initiative in creative activity (Creative). The purpose of CAS is to encourage students to go beyond academic pursuits and experience life outside school. Now, the assessment criterion for IB includes and expects a lot more than any other programme. All subjects are assessed using both internal and external assessment, including final exams given worldwide in May and/or in November. With the exam results and the results of both TOK essays and Extended Essays, the grade boundary is set of up to 45. IB is recognized almost everywhere as a high level programme which encourages students to be critical thinkers and independent thinkers. This in turn gives candidates a good placement in colleges and universities all over the world. In Canada and the United States, some IBDP courses are recognized as equivalent to university/college-level courses, and universities and colleges may award entering students with first-year credit depending on their point totals.
In this regard it is similar to the Advanced Placement Programme. In the United Kingdom, most universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, accept the IB Diploma as an alternative 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 specialized, or because certain subjects are not offered. However, in Peru, various universities allow direct entrance to student who successfully completed the IB. Other countries, such as Germany, set certain conditions for the IB Diploma to be co-validated (a foreign language at minimum A2 Standard Level, Mathematics standard level minimum, and al 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.
As IB students offer a broader and well rounded education, British universities often prefer them over A-level students. IB students complete 6 subjects, whereas A-level students usually do 3 or 4 subjects. Higher Level subjects in the IB are more challenging than full A-levels for example, the difficulty and the amount of content of Higher Level Mathematics is held equivalent to be between a full A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics. This is largely due to the fact that the British government has control and influence of A-levels, whereas the IB is an independent organization. The Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay and CAS offered by IB students are also features not offered by A-levels, favored by many universities. 36-37 Points in the IB is held equal to AAB at A-levels by UK universities, though requirements for similar courses with similar A level requirements can vary widely.
Having studied in an MYP/IB school for 7 years now, it has had a major impact on my lifestyle and the way I think. Such an experience teaches you to be independent thinkers. Therefore, you can think for yourself and can improve your mistakes only by making mistakes. The IB programme allows such problems to occur enabling the students to overcome changes independently. Bangladesh too offers such education to flourish in our everyday society. The International School of Dhaka is one of the few IB schools that are known to all Bangladeshi's for this matter. With the high profile the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) sets, we can suggest that education is a tree and which nourishes and feeds its seeds until a point when they are ready to be independent. The seed uses all the provided ingredients to grow and nourish itself until it makes its own seeds.
[The writer is a student of grade 11, Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu, India]
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