IB assessment structure & grading: DP & MYP

The IB is assessed in two distinct ways: the Diploma Programme scores six subjects 1-7 (max 42) and adds up to 3 bonus points from TOK + the Extended Essay for a 45-point maximum and a 24-point pass; the Middle Years Programme marks four criteria (A-D, each 0-8) per subject and converts the total to a 1-7 grade. Both blend externally marked exams with IB-moderated internal work.

How is the IB Diploma Programme structured?

The diploma is awarded at 24 points or more (conditions apply, including minimum HL/SL grades, satisfactory CAS and no failing conditions). The TOK and Extended Essay grades combine in a points matrix to add up to 3 bonus points on top of the 42 subject points.

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What are the six DP subject groups?

Every Diploma Programme candidate picks one subject from each of the six groups, so the diploma is, by design, broad before it is deep. The six groups map onto languages, humanities, sciences, mathematics and the arts, and the school's subject menu inside each group is set by what teachers and resources the IB World School can support.

Group 6 is the only flexible slot. A student leaning towards engineering or medicine frequently drops the Arts and takes a second science or a second humanity instead, so the final menu reads as three sciences, one humanity, one language and one mathematics - still six subjects, still six groups when you count Mathematics in Group 5 and the substituted subject under its native group.

How do you split three HL and three SL subjects?

Each Higher Level subject is taught for around 240 timetable hours over two years, and each Standard Level subject for roughly 150 hours, so HL goes wider and deeper on the same syllabus. Universities reference HL grades for course-specific entry, which is why subject choice is usually driven by what you want to study next, not which subjects feel easiest right now.

• Engineering & computer science: Mathematics AA HL plus Physics HL is the most common backbone, with a third HL chosen from a humanity, a language or Computer Science.
• Medicine & life sciences: Biology HL and Chemistry HL together, with a third HL often in Mathematics or a language to balance the grade profile.
• Economics, finance, business: Mathematics AA HL or AI HL paired with Economics HL and a Group 1 language HL is a classic shape, with the remaining three subjects at SL.
• Humanities, law, social sciences: Two HL subjects from History, Economics, Geography or Psychology plus a Group 1 HL language gives universities exactly the depth they want to see.

Subject changes between HL and SL are possible early in DP1 but tighten quickly, because internal assessment briefs and teaching plans diverge by level. By the end of DP1, swapping HL Chemistry for SL Chemistry is normally feasible; swapping HL Chemistry for HL History after the first IA is filed is usually not.

How does the 45-point maximum actually add up?

The 45-point total comes from two layers: 42 points from the six subjects (1-7 each) and up to 3 bonus points from the Theory of Knowledge plus Extended Essay matrix. The matrix takes the TOK grade (A-E) and the EE grade (A-E) and looks up how many bonus points they jointly produce. An A and an A together yield the full 3 bonus points; combinations involving D grades or below yield 0 or 1; an E in either TOK or EE triggers a failing condition that can block the diploma even if you have well over 24 subject points.

The CAS strand sits outside this points calculation. CAS is not graded, but it must be completed satisfactorily, with evidence logged through your school's CAS portfolio across DP1 and DP2. An incomplete CAS file does not lose points - it prevents the diploma being awarded at all.

What does the 24-point pass actually require?

The 24-point minimum is the floor, but four named failing conditions live alongside it. To be awarded the IB Diploma a candidate must score at least 24 total points and all of the following must be true:

• No grade 1 in any subject (HL or SL).
• No more than two grade 2s combined across HL and SL subjects.
• No more than three grade 3s or below combined across all six subjects.
• At least 12 points from HL subjects (so an average just over 4 across three HLs).
• At least 9 points from SL subjects (so an average of 3 across three SLs).
• Satisfactory CAS and no E in TOK or the Extended Essay.

These conditions exist because the diploma is meant to certify a balanced profile, not just a points total. A candidate can score 27 points overall and still not be awarded the diploma if the points came from one strong subject plus several grade 2s - the failing-conditions filter catches that pattern.

How is the MYP assessed (criteria A-D)?

How does the four-criteria MYP rubric work in practice?

MYP marking is criterion-based rather than norm-referenced, which means every piece of assessed work is judged against four published descriptors rather than ranked against the rest of the class. Each subject group has four criteria - A, B, C and D - and each criterion is scored on a 0-8 band, where a level 0 reflects no evidence and level 7-8 reflects work that consistently and skilfully meets the highest descriptor. The four criterion scores are added at the end of the school year to give a raw total out of 32, which the IB then converts to the familiar 1-7 final grade through published grade boundaries.

The criteria themselves are tuned to each subject family. In MYP Sciences, for example, criterion A tests knowledge and understanding, B tests inquiring and designing, C tests processing and evaluating, and D tests reflecting on the impacts of science. In MYP Language and Literature the criteria pivot to analysing, organising, producing text and using language. The four-criterion shape is the same across groups, but the descriptors map onto the skills each subject cares about.

What is MYP eAssessment and the MYP Certificate?

MYP eAssessment is the optional, externally moderated end-of-year-5 route through which a school can have its students receive the formal IB MYP Certificate. It combines on-screen examinations in selected subject groups with ePortfolios for arts and physical education, plus moderation of the Personal Project. Schools choose whether to opt in; many use teacher-only criterion-based grading for years 1-4 and then route year 5 through eAssessment so students leave the MYP with an IB-issued certificate rather than only school records.

To earn the MYP Certificate the candidate must achieve a satisfactory Personal Project, a total points threshold across the assessed subjects, and a minimum grade in language and literature, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, and either an additional language or an arts/design subject. The exact thresholds are published by the IB and applied through the same boundaries used for the 1-7 conversion.

How do the components add up to a final result?

In the DP, each subject grade (1-7) blends externally marked written exams with IB-moderated internal assessment; the six grades give up to 42 points and the TOK/EE matrix adds up to 3, for a 45 maximum and a 24-point pass. In the MYP, criteria A-D totals convert to a 1-7 grade through published boundaries. See the points & entry page.

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What this means for prep

• Balance all six subjects. A weak subject costs points one-for-one, since the diploma total is the sum across all six.
• Bank your internal assessment. IA, orals and the Extended Essay are gradeable marks - treat their school deadlines as seriously as the written exams.
• Train to the criteria. DP mark schemes and MYP criteria reward structured, evidenced responses - practise to the rubric, not a fixed answer.

Ready to test where you stand? Take a free IB mock and see your indicative point total in one paper.