Excelling Teaching & Learning : International Baccalaureate Program
	International Baccalaureate Application 68k Pre-International Baccalaureate Application 68k Letter to the Editor

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The IB program offers students an exciting and rigorous pre-university course of studies in high school. This is a challenging program which stresses critical thinking and written and oral communication skills and emphasizes an international perspective. IB offers the student the opportunity to take honors classes with weighted grades across all content areas. Students take exams at the end of their course work and may earn college credit at their university.

To qualify, students should have completed the following by the end of their sophomore year:

3 years of math (some may be taken in middle school)
3 years of Spanish or French (the first year may be taken in 8th grade)
2 years of science
2 years of language arts
2 years of electives such as art or music
2 years of social studies

The Pre-IB program can fulfill these requirements.

While an individual student's courses may vary slightly, the following are typical Pre-IB 9th and 10th grade schedules:

This means that students should take the first year of either French or Spanish during eighth grade. However, we can work with those who have not done this.

(Exception: Algebra I and Foreign Language, Levels I-III) All of these courses are taken at the honors level. They may be taken at other schools, and then the student will transfer to DMHS for junior and senior years. The DMHS Pre-IB program ensures that the students have the necessary skills to enter IB or to take any other honors classes.

During the 11th and 12th grade years, students must take IB classes. Exam fees and IB program fees may exceed $1000 for junior and senior combined. IB classes include the following:
(We have listed them with the District title and the title that IB uses.)

Two year courses are called Higher Level (HL) and one year courses are called Standard Level (SL) by IB. At the end of their junior year, the students will take exams in two SL courses. They will take the other exams at the end of their senior year.

In addition to the course work, students must perform 150 hours of CAS (Creativity, Action and Service). This involves participation in community service, sports and/or extracurricular activities. Students also take a course entitled the Theory of Knowledge. This course explores the relationship between all subjects/disciplines and stresses critical reflection and thinking. The last component is the Extended Essay. The student must write a 4000 word essay based on a subject that they select and research. This is begun during the second semester of the junior year and is completed by the end of the first semester of the senior year.

Approximately 79% of SUSD Diploma candidates earn the Diploma, while only 75% do so nationally. Upon receiving the IB Diploma, a student may be accepted at many universities and colleges in the United States and around the world. Students may be exempt from some classes during their first year of college based on how well they perform on the IB exams.

Students who are successful in the IB program generally get A's and B's, are involved in extracurricular activities, work hard,  and want to be challenged to excel.

An idea of just how well IB students perform on standardized tests is evident in the following statistics:

Two IB students received perfect SAT scores of 1600 in '02/'03

The IB team, consisting of administrators, the IB coordinators and teachers, is anxious to answer any questions that you may have concerning the IB program. Feel free to call 480-484-7017.