IB Diploma Programme
The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education and is recognized by many universities worldwide.
Administered by the International Baccalaureate (IB), the IBDP is taught in schools in over 140 countries, in one of five languages: Chinese, English, French, German, or Spanish.
In addition, they must fulfill the three core requirements, namely CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service), TOK (Theory of Knowledge) and the EE (Extended Essay).
[3][4] When he became director of Ecolint's English division, Desmond Cole-Baker began to develop the idea, and in 1962, his colleague Robert Leach organized a conference in Geneva, at which the term "International Baccalaureate" was first mentioned.
[3][5] An American social studies teacher, Leach organized the conference—with a $2500 grant from UNESCO—which was attended by observers from European schools and UNESCO.
"[6] At the end of the conference, UNESCO funded the International School Association with an additional $10,000, which was inadequate to do more than produce a few papers, or bring teachers together for meetings.
[9] According to Peterson, "the breakthrough in the history of the IB" came in 1965 with a grant from the Twentieth Century Fund, which commissioned Martin Mayer, author of The Schools, to produce a report on the feasibility of establishing a common curriculum and examination for international schools that would be acceptable for entry to universities worldwide.
[7] The Ford Foundation grant, secured in 1966, funded Peterson's study at Oxford University, which focused on three issues: a comparative analysis of "secondary educational programmes in European countries...in cooperation with the Council of Europe"; university expectations for secondary students intending to enter university; and a "statistical comparison of IB pilot examination results with...national school leaving examinations such as British A Levels and US College Board (AP) Tests".
[7][8] As a result of the study and the curriculum model developed at Atlantic College, Peterson initiated the pattern of combining "general education with specialization", which melded with the curricula of the United States and Canada, and became the "curriculum framework" proposed at the UNESCO conference in Geneva in 1967.
[8] Late in 1967, ISES was restructured and renamed the IB Council of Foundation, and John Goormaghtigh became the first president in January 1968.
[14] The experimental period ended in 1975, and in that year, the International Baccalaureate North America (IBNA) was established as a separate entity, allowing the funding for implementation of the IBDP to remain in the country rather than being sent to Geneva.
[8] From the start, all subjects of the IB Diploma Programme were available in English and French, and it was mandatory for all students to study both a first and a second language.
Failing conditions that will prevent a student from being awarded a diploma, regardless of points received, are non-completion of CAS, more than three scores of 3 or below (HL or SL), more than two scores of 2 or below (HL or SL), a score of 1 in any subject (HL or SL), not meeting the specific points required for Higher Level (12) or Standard Level (9) subjects, grade "E" awarded for theory of knowledge and/or the extended essay, or a penalty for academic misconduct from the Final Award Committee.
The IBDP was described as "a rigorous, off-the-shelf curriculum recognized by universities around the world" on 10 December 2006, edition of Time magazine, in an article titled "How to bring our schools out of the 20th century".
[83] It was also featured in the summer 2002 edition of American Educator, where Robert Rothman described it as "a good example of an effective, instructionally sound, exam-based system".
[84] Howard Gardner, a professor of educational psychology at Harvard University, said that the IBDP curriculum is "less parochial than most American efforts" and helps students "think critically, synthesize knowledge, reflect on their own thought processes and get their feet wet in interdisciplinary thinking".
[2] In 2006, government ministers provided funding so that "every local authority in England could have at least one centre offering sixth-formers the chance to do the IB".
[2] In the United States, criticism of the IBDP has centered on the vague claim that it is anti-American, according to parents anonymously quoted in The New York Times, who objected to the program's funding from UNESCO in its early years.
[86] In 2012, the school board in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, voted to eliminate all IB programmes in the district because of low participation and high costs.
