Grades and study results

The IB assesses study results for the Diploma Programme (DP) in the following way:

The grades for the subjects are added up to a total score (total).

Please note: the subjects theory of knowledge, extended essay and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) are assessed in a different way (with letter grades):

Students can earn 1, 2 or 3 points for these 3 subjects combined. These points count towards the total diploma score.

Provisional transcripts

We often see provisional transcripts. Based on the diploma requirements, you can check whether a student can achieve the diploma. Below, we list the requirements for the 2 DP diplomas.

The way in which the IB assesses study results from the Career-related Programme (CP) depends on the subject:

• CP students take at least 2 DP subjects. Under ‘Diploma Programme (DP) study results’ above, you can see how the IB assesses these subjects.
• The IB assesses the ‘Reflective Project’ part with a letter grade (A-E). Students must achieve at least a D.
• Students do not receive a grade or letter grade from the IB for the ‘Service Learning’, ‘Language Development’ and ‘Personal and Professional Skills’ components. If students complete a component, it receives the status ‘Completed’.
• The ‘Career-related Studies (CRS)’ component also does not involve an assessment by the IB. The school checks whether the student has completed this part and passes that on to the IB. The CRS component does not appear on the transcript.

Provisional transcripts

We often see provisional transcripts. Based on the diploma requirements, you can check whether a student can achieve the diploma. Below, we list the requirements for the 2 CP diplomas.

Students usually follow the entire education programme in English. In addition, they can take English as a subject. They have the following options, from high to low:

• Language A: literature (SL or HL);
• Language A: language and literature (SL or HL);
• Literature and performance (SL);
• Language B (SL or HL);
• Language ab initio (SL).

On the IB website, you can find out which CEFR English level IB students achieve with these subjects. Only the subject ‘English ab initio’ is not listed. This is because this subject is at the beginner level. The same applies to ‘Language A: Language and Literature’; the subject is just slightly less academic.

Students do not follow the education programme in Dutch. They can, however, take Dutch as a subject. When doing so, they have the same options as for English (see above). For ‘Language A: Literature’, students must be proficient in the language at a high level (native speaker). The same applies to ‘Language A: Language and Literature’; the subject is just slightly less academic.

Following completion of the International Baccalaureate, students receive 2 documents:

• a certificate or diploma:
  • a Diploma of the International Baccalaureate or a Bilingual Diploma of the International Baccalaureate (after completing general upper secondary education); or
  • a Career-related Programme Certificate of the International Baccalaureate (after completing vocational upper secondary education); and
• a transcript.

Please note: students who take their exams in May usually receive their diplomas at the end of July or August. For exams taken in November, the diploma is usually available at the end of January. You can, however, check the exam results before then; see ‘Checking exam results online’ below. You can use that to already check if the student has achieved the diploma.