AP/IB Blog Nation

We here at Granite Hills would like to congratulate the 16 IB students from the class of 2009 who earned their full Diploma!  Seven of these students earned 30 points or more and so will go into college basically as sophomores! Way to go!

After decades of operating quietly on the margins of education, the International Baccalaureate program has leaped into the limelight. In many ways, this newfound popularity is no surprise. IB offers two things almost every school wants: world-class academics and prestige. IB was created in Switzerland to provide a standardized, internationally recognized diploma to the children of globe-trotting diplomats and business executives.

“The program focuses on getting kids to think deeply about disciplines and about learning and about themselves,” says David Weiss, president of the Guild of International Baccalaureate Schools of the Northeast. “It embeds the best educational practices there are: authentic assessments, different modalities involved in learning, and group work. It’s rich, and it promotes critical thinking skills.” IB, a broad based liberal arts curriculum, aims to inspire independent inquiry and instill humanitarian values. The notoriously intense final exams in the high school program, which take roughly twenty-five hours over the course of three to five weeks, emphasize oral and written analysis and argument, not penciling in multiple-choice bubbles.

For much of its thirty-eight-year history, IB was available in a sprinkling of high schools—perhaps the best-kept secret in education. But as school districts strive (and struggle) to improve student performance, IB is expanding quickly. In the United States, 521 high schools offer IB, a demanding college prep curriculum with an emphasis on global education—up from 327 in North America six years ago. Implementing it in high school requires six strong academic departments working together, comprehensive curriculum development, and extensive teacher training—almost retraining. “You’re asking teachers to look at their practice, to focus on depth of study over breadth, to focus on what students are learning rather than what you’re teaching,” Weiss says. “You’re really pushing the edge of what education is about.”

At Granite Hills, IB exists alongside our Advanced Placement program as well as regular high school classes, and the IB diploma is awarded in addition to the standard certificate. To qualify for the diploma, students must complete at least one IB course in each of six areas: literature, foreign language, math, science, arts, and individuals and societies (which includes history and economics), plus an interdisciplinary seminar called Theory of Knowledge. Students also must write a 4,000-word research paper, known as the extended essay, and log at least 150 hours of what is called Creativity, Action, and Service—a community involvement program that covers everything from sports to performing onstage to ladling soup at a homeless shelter.

IB classes look and sound like college seminars, not standard high school fare. “Rather than a chalk-and-talk method for forty minutes, you learn strategies to help students investigate and analyze material, and learn it without a lecture,” says Constance Addabbo, assistant principal and IB coordinator of Dobbs Ferry High School, in suburban Westchester County, New York. The courses carry a heavy workload for students and teachers alike—and most everyone agrees it pays off. College admissions officers like IB, top universities grant credit for it, and graduates consistently say they sail through postsecondary education after those grueling IB years. The University of California now grants sophomore standing to students earning at least 30 of the possible 45 diploma points available. IB isn’t just about scholarship, however; it also offers a specific Worldview. The IBO is unapologetically idealistic in believing that education can foster understanding among young people around the world, enabling future generations to live more peacefully and productively than before.” A biology class will explore not only the protein sequences of DNA but also thorny societal questions: To what extent are we defined by our genes? By our cultures? In a unit on the American Revolution, students may not have to memorize the names of every bloody battlefield, but they probably will compare and contrast the war’s fife-and-drum patriots with other revolutionaries in the Americas, such as Che Guevara and Simón Bolivar. This international perspective often ignites the imagination of students.

At Granite Hills, IB classes welcome all comers, because the school board and principal insist that every child deserves the gold-standard education traditionally reserved for the “gifted.”

Requirements of the IB Diploma
Diploma candidates are required to select one subject from each of the six subject groups. All classes are taken during the junior and senior years.  Three academic subjects are taken at the higher level (HL); three are taken at the standard level (SL). Students are able to explore some subjects in depth and some more broadly over the two-year period. As juniors, students may take up to two of their three SL tests (we recommend they take at least one). The remaining tests are taken at the end of the senior year.

SL = a Standard Level class that is a one year course of study
HL = a Higher Level class that is a two year course of study.
Each exam is graded on a 7 point scale; six exams worth a possible 7 points each = 42 points possible. Additionally, students can earn 3 bonus points for a combination of scores from the TOK class and the Extended Essay. The total possible points, then, is 45 and the Diploma is earned with a score of 24. The UC system will give sophomore standing to students who earn 30 or more of the 45 possible points.

This requirement of having students test in six areas ensures that the science-orientated student is challenged to learn a foreign language and that the natural linguist becomes familiar with laboratory procedures. While overall balance is maintained, flexibility in choosing higher-level concentrations allows the student to pursue areas of personal interest and to meet requirements for university entrance.

Six Academic Subject Areas

Group 1- language A1:
Writing and oral skills in student’s first language.
Subjects: English HL

Group 2- second language:
Written and spoken communication in a second language:
Subjects: Spanish SL or HL and French SL or HL

Group 3- individuals & societies:
Subjects: History of the Americas HL, Psychology SL, Information Technology in a Global Society SL

Group 4- experimental sciences:
Subjects: Biology SL/HL, Chemistry SL, and Physics SL.

Group 5- mathematics:
All candidates for a diploma are required to complete a mathematics course.
Subjects: Statistics (Math Studies SL) and Calculus (Mathematics SL).

Group 6- arts and electives:

Includes visual arts and theatre arts.
Subjects: Art SL, Film HL, Theatre HL, Information Technology in a Global Society SL

Diploma candidates must meet three requirements in addition to the six academic subjects:

TOK (Theory of Knowledge) course designed to develop a coherent approach to learning.

CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) encourages students to be involved in sports, artistic pursuits, and community service. (150 hours minimum)

Extended Essay offers an opportunity to investigate a topic of special interest at length and to become familiar with research and writing skills expected at the university.

Suggested IB Diploma Program for the
Humanities Focus
4-year possible options

Freshman Year
Global Studies English H
Global Studies Geography H
Geometry OR Algebra I
World Language (Spanish, French)
Biology H
Physical Education

Sophomore Year
English H
AP European History
Algebra II OR Geometry
World Language II (Spanish, French)
Chemistry H or Physics H
Visual/Performing Art OR Physical Education
(P.E. may be waived if candidate participates on at least two CIF athletic teams in the sophomore or junior year.)

Junior Year
IB English HL
IB History of the Americas HL
Pre-Calculus /Algebra III OR Algebra II
World Language H (Spanish, French)
IB World Language French HL
IB Electives: IB Biology SL/HL, IB Physics SL
(IB Art SL, IB Psychology SL, IB Theatre HL, IB Film HL, IB Info Tech in Global Society SL)

Senior Year
IB English HL
IB 20th Century World History and Politics HL
IB Math Studies SL (8 topics required for IB test)
IB World Language (Spanish SL or French HL)
IB Biology HL
IB Theory of Knowledge
HL Option: IB Theatre HL, IB Film HL

Suggested IB Diploma Program for the
Science/Math Focus
4-year possible options

Freshman Year
Global Studies English H
Global Studies Geography H
Geometry H or Algebra II H
World Language (Spanish, French)
Biology H
Physical Education

Sophomore Year
English H
AP European History
Algebra II H or Pre-Calculus H
World Language II (Spanish, French)
Chemistry H, Physics H
Visual/Performing Art OR Physical Education (P.E. may be waived if candidate participates on at least two CIF athletic teams in the sophomore or junior year.)

Junior Year
IB English HL
IB History of the Americas HL
Pre-Calculus H or IB Mathematics SL/AP Calculus
World Language H (Spanish, French)
IB World Language French HL
IB Electives: IB Physics SL, IB Biology SL/HL
(IB Art SL, IB Psychology SL, IB Theatre HL, IB Film HL, IB Info Tech in Global Society SL)

Senior Year
IB English HL
IB 20th Century World History and Politics HL
IB Mathematics SL (Calculus)
IB World Language (Spanish SL or French HL)
IB Biology HL
IB Theory of Knowledge
HL Option: IB Theatre HL, IB Film HL