Cole and Hanson brought experience with college entrance examinations in the United States, and Hanson, in particular, brought his experience from a long relationship with the College Board. Ĭhâteau at Ecolint where IB was developed.īy 1964, international educators such as Alec Peterson (director of the Department of Education at Oxford University), Harlan Hanson (director of the College Board Advanced Placement Program), Desmond Cole (director of United Nations International School in New York) and Desmond Cole-Baker (head of the International School of Geneva) founded the International Schools Examination Syndicate (ISES). Writing about the genesis of the International Baccalaureate in Schools Across Frontiers, Alec Peterson credits Leach as "the original promoter of the International Baccalaureate." 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. 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. 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. In 1945, the "Conference of Internationally-minded Schools" asked the International School of Geneva (Ecolint) to create an international schools programme. In the United Kingdom, The Guardian newspaper claims that the IBDP is "more academically challenging and broader than three or four A-levels". It has been commended for introducing interdisciplinary thinking to students. Generally, the IBDP has been well-received. In most cases, these are initially graded by the classroom teacher, whose grades are then verified or modified, as necessary, by an appointed external moderator.
Internal assessment varies by subject: there may be oral presentations, practical work, or written work.
Students are evaluated using both internal and external assessments, and courses finish with an externally assessed series of examinations, usually consisting of two or three timed written tests. IBDP students complete assessments in six subjects, one from each subject group, and three core requirements. In order to participate, students must attend an IB school.
After a six-year pilot programme that ended in 1975, a bilingual diploma was established.Īdministered by the International Baccalaureate (IB), the IBDP is taught in schools in over 140 countries, in one of three languages: English, French, or Spanish. It was developed in the early-to-mid-1960s in Geneva, Switzerland, by a group of international educators. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education and is recognized by many universities worldwide. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme ( IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world.