International Baccalaureate (IB)

International Baccalaureate (IB) courses give you a chance to experience college-level curriculum and potentially earn college credit. Regardless of whether or not you get college credit, these courses are a great opportunity to show colleges your willingness to challenge yourself academically and prepare yourself for what classes in college may feel like.

To earn college credit, you have to take the IB exam for a course. If you are an IB Diploma student, you are required to take three standard level (SL) exams and three higher level (HL) exams. Otherwise, juniors in 1-year standard level (SL) courses and seniors in any standard or higher level (HL) can take the exam for a course. Several weeks after you take the exam, you will receive a numbered score from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). Whether or not your score can qualify for college credit will vary based on the university, course, and score.

IB exams contain two parts: an internal assessment (IA) and an external assessment (EA). The IA can happen at any point throughout a course and is completed and evaluated within your class by your high school teacher. The EA is a separate exam administered on a certain day and time in May of each year. It is very difficult to take an IB exam outside of the assigned dates and times. The schedule for IB testing for the 2023-2024 academic year is shown below.

To take an IB exam, you must register in advance by filling out this form. The deadline to register for IB exams for is Friday, October 20th. There is a registration fee of $119 per exam. If you change your exam registration between November 15th and January 15th, there is an additional $38 fee. If you qualify for free or reduced lunch, you can get an exam fee waiver by working with your school’s IB coordinator.

Testing Schedule: