What Makes IB Different From Local Examinations?
A Quick Disclaimer
I did not sit for any A level paper so I can’t really comment on that but I can only draw comparison with O levels, which I did sit for (After all, people say that A levels is an extension of O levels. I don’t know if that’s true but it’s the only information I have).
The information below is based on my own experiences and opinions. They are not meant to necessarily be facts.
Also, TLDR at the bottom!
So what exactly are the differences between A levels and IB?
1. The IB focuses more on application.
I took mostly Humanities, where examples are often required. For example, in IB Economics, we were often given newspaper articles to use as case studies which we had to answer questions on (In fact, one of the papers is solely based on case studies). We even had to evaluate the strategies and policies of current affairs. I found this really interesting compared to my experience in O levels whereby it seemed like mindless memorising.
Even for IB Chemistry, almost all the lessons had a live experiment to accompany the theories being taught. As someone who is a visual learner, I was intrigued by how the concepts I learned was able to materialise in front of my very eyes.
Another area where this is very evident in is the Internal Assessments (IA). An IA is basically an “experiment” which the student designs and conducts by him/herself. For example, for IB Economics, we had 3 IAs to do during the 2 years. Essentially, students have to find a newspaper article about an Economic issue and use what they learnt in class to analyse and evaluate it. For IB Chemistry, I remember designing my experiment from scratch including formulating hypotheses and writing a personal reflection on how this experiment can help in my life. I even carried out the experiment and noted the results. I found the IAs to be interesting as there is often no right answer. This is because the IB focuses more on personal engagement, curiosity and the way we approach the experiment, instead of the actual results.
2. Your marks are not just based on one final examination.
The IB promotes holistic learning by ensuring students aren’t just scored based on one examination. Like I mentioned in point 1, there are assessments such as the IA which can constitute about 20% of the grade.
For me, I personally preferred this system, not because it was easier but because it forced me to be more consistent in my efforts. Having many assignments spread over 2 years really kept me on my toes. Of course, another benefit of this is that I did not feel so stressed out during the final examinations, as I knew I had already secured some marks.
However, this system does not favour everyone.
I have friends who are rather last-minute “muggers”. Perhaps this attitude has been cultivated since Secondary School where a majority, if not all of the marks are based off one examination. Students therefore attempt to burn the midnight oil. This works of course, when you only have one major exam. This doesn’t work in the context of the IB program as you will need to perform throughout the 2 years.
3. IB really pushes students to develop holistically.
There are many other compulsory activities that an IB student has to fulfill during the 2 years. I will be listing out some of them here, on top of IAs, which I have already mentioned.
CAS — 150 hours of compulsory “CCA”. It is divided in to 3 components, “Creativity”, “Action” and “Service”. This means that you will often see IB students taking on 3 or more CAS activities in order to meet the minimum required hours. However, I found this positive as it made me explore activities outside of my comfort zones and exposed me to many new ones which I probably would not have joined if they were optional.
Extended Essay — the best way to describe this component of the IB is a mini “research paper” which students design from scratch and explore mostly on their own, with little help from a supervisor. My Extended Essay required me to conduct surveys, dig out town maps and plans as well as conduct research on the topic of urban planning. It eventually consisted of 60 pages of hard work.
Theory of Knowledge — It’s hard to explain what it is so this is from the IB website.
“Theory of Knowledge plays a special role…. by providing an opportunity for students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, and on how we know what we claim to know.” — IBO
I guess its something like Philosophy? I personally really enjoyed the debates presented in this subject and it really allowed me to question the world as we know it.
4. The IB syllabus — is it really easier than A levels?
I can’t really give an accurate comment on this, again because I did not sit for the A level paper. However, I have heard some passing remarks on how difficult the IB is compared to A levels.
Based on what I hear, this is how they compare to each other.
Standard Level — basically something like a H1.5 in A levels.
Higher Level — basically H2/2.5
In the IB, students have to take 3 SL subjects and 3 HL subjects. I am not sure how the A levels is structured but I heard it is pretty similar.
I found the IB to be demanding and difficult. The content we learnt wasn’t sparse and although it might not be as deep, it was still really wide.
Here are some additional difficulties I faced apart from the ones I already wrote about above.
Time consuming: Students should expect to be really busy throughout the 2 years, trying to understand the concepts being taught, fulfilling their assignments, completing their Extended Essay( a 4000 word “research paper”), Theory of Knowledge(thought to be similar to Philosophy), CAS hours and an overseas program.
Competitiveness: With the media constantly emphasising how local students are scoring top grades in the IB, there is immense pressure on students to do well. Attaining a score higher than 40 has become an unofficial local benchmark, compared to the world average of 30. Local IB schools mostly sit for the November paper, meaning that attaining an A would be much harder (during my year, I remember the minimum grade to score a 7 in Chinese B was 91%. Any careless mistakes made would put students at risk of dropping one grade). In a way, this competitiveness can be seen as healthy because it pushes everyone to do their best. However, this stress often causes students to deviate from the whole point of choosing the IB program as they start fixating on their grades.
As someone who has been through Primary and Secondary school in Singapore, I noticed that the IB is just much more flexible in the sense that it really fosters students’ creativity. It was however initially hard for me to adjust from a system where I was being told “what” and “how” to do something to one that encourages me to think of these questions myself. After all, a mindset that is developed for 16 years is hard to change.
TLDR: A Summary
Who shouldn’t take the IB? If you are deciding to take IB because it is easier, I would say that you are doing it for the wrong reason. You should expect to be busy with unending assignments, reports, research papers, presentations, CCAs, etc. Yes, the grades are spread out throughout the 2 years but that means that you will feel constant pressure as any assignment done badly could cause a huge impact on your final grade.
Who should choose the IB? If you choose to tackle the IB, it should be because you are looking for something more holistic. You will see how the theories learnt can apply to the real world, which is a beautiful thing. You will be tasked to question all that you have learnt and never accept the truth for what it is said to be. The greatest benefit for me is that I was able to learn in a whole new way, one that I really enjoyed.
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I hope that this article has helped you make a decision! The IB is indeed a beautiful program, but it may simply not be everyone’s cup of tea.
This article is written by a tutor from the IB Lounge. We are a group of top-scoring IB graduates who believe in teaching our students not only content but also how to appreciate and enjoy their learning. Our classes are in-line with the IB syllabus and we try to make the lessons as relatable as possible, bringing in many real world examples.