International Baccalaureate (IB)
CONGRATULATION LHHS IB CLASS OF 2023!!
The International Baccalaureate Diploma and individual certificates are recognized for university admission and advanced standing in the United States and throughout the world. The three year IB exam pass rate is 92%.
- About IB
- Core
- Courses
- eCoursework Uploads
- Extended Essay
- IB Grade Scale
- IB Testing 2024
- University Information
- IB Policies
About IB
What is IB
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program is a rigorous pre-university course of studies, leading to examinations that meet the needs of highly motivated secondary school students. IB is a nonprofit educational foundation founded in the 1960’s and based in Geneva, Switzerland. It has 1,464 schools in 115 countries. There are more than 485 IB programs in North America.
IBO grew out of efforts to establish a common curriculum and university entry credential and the idealistic vision that a shared academic experience emphasizing critical thinking and exposure to a variety of viewpoints would encourage intercultural understanding and acceptance of others. The goal of education is to provide young people with the values and opportunities that will enable them to develop sound judgment and to make wise choices. This demanding and comprehensive two-year curriculum’s aim is to help students learn how to learn, how to evaluate information critically, how to analyze, how to reach thoughtful conclusions, and how to communicate.
IB Mission Statement
The International Baccalaureate® aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
LHHS IB Coordinator: Laurel Crossett Email: crossettl@svusd.org
LHHS IB Coordinator: Tom Krucli Email: kruclit@svusd.org
Core
- Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS)
- Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
- Extended Essay (EE)
What is CAS?
CAS is an acronym for Creativity, Activity, Service. It is a requirement for all IB diploma students to fulfill projects over 18 months of their junior and senior year that encompass each of these categories and to record and show evidence of his/her projects, experience and activities. It is a way for students to not only develop as individuals but to serve school and community. Click on the "CAS Subject Brief" below for more details.
What is Theory of Knowledge (TOK)?
Theory of Knowledge is a course imbedded in the humanities courses during junior and senior year. Additionally, TOK is incorporated into the curriculum of all IB course. Junior year students complete the TOK exhibition which focuses on answering a TOK prompt that students select from a list of 35 prompts. Senior year students write the TOK essay in which the choose a prompt from a list of 5 prescribed titles. The course focuses on answering how we know what we know about various areas of knowledge.
What is the Extended Essay (EE)?
The extended essay (EE) is an in-depth study of a focused topic chosen from the list of available Diploma Programme subjects. This is normally one of the student's six chosen subjects for those taking the IB diploma, or a subject that a student has a background in. It is intended to promote academic research and writing skills, providing students with an opportunity to engage in personal research in a topic of their own choice, under the guidance of a supervisor (appropriately qualified member of the staff within the school). This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing, in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject chosen. Click on the "EE Subject Brief" below for more details.
Useful information:
Courses
To pursue the IB diploma students must take 6 IB course (1 from each from group 1-5 and 1 additional course from any group 1-6). Many Courses are offered in the 6 IB groups. Students complete 3 courses at the higher level (HL) and 3 at the standard level (SL). For more information on each course click on the course name.
Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature
Group 2: Language Acquisition
Group 3: Individuals and Societies
Group 4: Sciences
Group 5: Mathematics
Group 6: The Arts
eCoursework Uploads
All internally and externally assessments for the IB are uploaded into the IB eCoursework site starting in February.
Students must upload all assignments to Managebac and go to candidates.ibo.org to upload their coursework. Students will receive their login information from the IB Coordinators in February.
Extended Essay
The extended essay is an formal research paper on a subject and topic of the students choice. This essay provides an opportunity for students to engage in college level research and is one of the aspect of IB that helps to prepare students for university level course. For this reason, universities are attracted to IB diploma candidates since they have performed college level research.
IB Grade Scale
IB GRADE SCALE
Each academic subject is assessed on a scale of 1 (minimum) to 7 (maximum) with 4 considered the "passing grade". In all IB subjects this grade is arrived at through internally as well as externally assessed or moderated work, throughout the two-year program with the final examination. Following are the approximate grade scales used by the IB:
IB Grade % Range Description
7 80 - 100 Excellent
6 68 - 79 Very Good
5 55 - 67 Good
4 45 - 54 Satisfactory
3 35 - 44 Mediocre
2 25 - 34 Poor
1 0 - 24 Very Poor
To achieve the IB Diploma, therefore, a student should achieve a minimum of 24 IB points (IB grade 4 in 6 subjects) with the maximum possible diploma score being 45 points (IB grade 7 in 6 subjects plus 3 bonus points). However, there are specific IB requirements which mean that a student scoring a 1 in any subject is not awarded the Diploma, even if the total score is 24 or greater. Similarly, a student scoring a 3 in one subject at HL still needs to reach a total of 12 points at HL, or an overall Diploma total of 28 points.
For this reason, for school purposes, we recommend that students aim for a total of 28 points with no failing conditions in order to be considered strong IB Diploma candidates.
IB Testing 2024
University Information
LHHS School Profile
Since 1986 Laguna Hills High School has been a proud International Baccalaureate school, dedicated to providing a rigorous program to develop students lifelong journey in the pursuit of international-mindedness. IB students, at Laguna, engage in a two year Diploma Program of which less than 5% of students at Laguna Hills High School (LHHS) are International Baccalaureate (IB) full diploma candidates. 10 advanced placement (AP) courses are offered at LHHS, 6 of which are also IB courses. As a full diploma candidate, students take additional exams and complete internal assessments, which are application projects of the course. In addition, students complete Creativity, Activity, and Service projects, write a 4,000 word extended essay, and a theory of knowledge essay which requires them to defend how we know something to be true.
IB University Recognition
IB Policies
The following policies are specific to the LHHS IB program and are in alignment with the IB, SVUSD and LHHS regulations and procedures. Each policy is revised each school year by a team of teachers, students, parents and administrators.
LHHS IB Program Admissions Policy
Student and Guardian Complaint Policy