The IB is the most academically challenging program not only at MPI but also for schools worldwide. Students pursue six IB courses (one each of Literature, Social Studies, World Language, Experimental Science, Mathematics, and either the Arts or a second option on the previous five subjects – see the Hexagon below) building on their strengths as well as developing their weaker areas.

All students are required to take three additional components:

1. Theory of Knowledge (TOK) – a critical thinking class taken in the 2nd semester of their junior year and 1st semester of their senior year. This class is a philosophy course that ties into the other 6 courses (ex: what does it mean to think mathematically, historically, scientifically? Is the truth knowable? Does Objectivity exist?) and for which students write an essay and prepare an oral argument on one of the essential questions.
2. Write an original 3000-4000 word Extended Essay (the EE) to develop analytical research skills. MPI uses part of the TOK class (first semester junior year) to prepare students for the EE.
3. Develop the whole child through “CAS Hours.” CAS stands for Creativity, Action, and Service:

C = Engaging in any creative activities such as painting, playing music, photography (MPSA performances apply towards these hours)

A = Engaging in any activity where you break a sweat (school sports apply towards these hours)

S = community or school service (club activities apply towards these hours)

Students perform 50 hours from each category in their junior year, and again in the senior year of the full IB Diploma Programme.

AP courses are year-long survey courses that culminate in an exam assessed by Educational Testing Services/CollegeBoard. These exams are a mix of multiple choice and essay questions and test mostly for content knowledge. The hyperlink included here for CollegeBoard will take you to its official website for a further description of the AP program.

Exams are scored from 1 – 5. Scores of a 4 or a 5 generally reward students with college credit in that subject.

Students enrolled in AP courses receive a one point bump on their MPI transcript (ex: an “A” is worth five points, not four.)

The IB is very different from AP. The hyperlink included here for the IB will take you to its official website for more specific information than is provided here, including descriptions of individual courses.

At its fullest, it is essentially a two-year college program undertaken in the junior and senior years of high school.

In the Full IB Diploma Programme (DP) eligible students take seven integrated subjects in all disciplines, and carry out projects, investigations, labs, essays, and oral presentations, as well as taking cumulative exams in those disciplines.

Students receive heavier transcript weighing, similar to AP, and can receive up to one semester or even year of college credits for successful completion of the full IB Diploma Programme.

Individual IB courses may be selected as well (this will be discussed under the FAQ for the IB Certificate.)

A. Students graduating from high school with an IB Diploma have the following qualities:

• Fluency in 2 languages;
• Self confidence with university texts & materials;
• The capacity for independent /group research & study;
• Cultivated critical & creative thinking abilities with well-developed communication skills;
• The ability to complete challenging & rigorous courses of study;
• Compassionate concern for others.

B. Colleges value IB Diploma students.

Data from the 2008 High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE) by Indiana University’s School of Education show that IB students have the highest level of academic engagement in high school;

That IB classes are the most academically challenging in high school, and the same survey shows that IB students are more often in classes requiring classroom discussion;

That success in the IB Diploma Programme is the most consistent predictor of success in college, including graduation rate and GPA;

Therefore, colleges and universities tend to prioritize IB Diploma Programme students for admissions.

C. The IB Learner Profile promotes the education of the whole person, emphasizing intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth through all domains of knowledge.

According to the Learner Profile, IB learners strive to be:

• Inquirers
• Knowledgeable
• Thinkers
• Communicators
• Principled
• Open-minded
• Caring
• Risk-takers
• Balanced
• Reflective

All IB courses are designed in such a way as to enhance the Learner Profile through class topics, activities, and assessments.

For IB:

Literature: IB English (a two-year course)

World Languages:
IB French, Spanish, Japanese
IB French, Japanese, and Mandarin for Beginners (two-year courses)

History:
IB History of the Americas (junior year)
IB 20th Century History (senior year)
IB Information Technology in a Global Society

Sciences:
IB Biology, IB Physics, IB Environmental Science

Math:
IB Math (AP Calculus) and IB Math Studies (Advanced Math)

Arts:
IB Dance, IB Theatre, IB Music, IB Visual Arts (two-year courses)

For AP:

Math:
AP Calculus AB & BC
AP Statistics

Sciences:
AP Biology
AP Physics
AP Environmental Science

All students wishing to enroll in any IB or AP classes must be approved by their class dean and the IB/AP director. Approval is based on a combination of grades, teacher recommendations and indications of student motivation.

IB Diploma students generally have a GPA of an at least a 3.5 in their academic core courses.

Teacher recommendations are solicited by the IB/AP Director’s office in January and again in April.

If students are approved for AP and IB courses, these options will appear in the drop down menu in MPI’s online course selection page.

Every Full IB Diploma Student will choose:
3 two-year subjects (High Level - Consider this like a college major)
3 one-year subjects (Standard Level - Consider this like a college minor)

For instance – in creating this two year schedule, counseling proceeds as follows:

A. For Literature (Group 1 of the IB Hexagon)
Every student does IB English HL in both junior and senior year as MPI requires four years of language arts to graduate. So that’s two years of scheduling done right there, and one High Level class taken care of

B. For World Languages (Group 2 of the IB Hexagon)
All these courses are offered at Standard Level only

Every student will either take:

• Spanish or French IV (IB Spanish SL or IB French SL) or Japanese V (IB Spanish SL,) or,
• French, Mandarin or Japanese ab initio (IB French, Mandarin or Japanese for Beginners SL.) Enroll on Beginners courses this if you will not reach the IV or V level in your language courses by senior year.

C. For History (Group 3 of the IB Hexagon)

Every student will take history at the High Level:

• That’s IB History of the Americas as a junior (which also takes care of the US hist MPI grad requirement)
• And IB 20th century World History HL as a senior

So that’s the second two-year High Level necessary for your full Diploma schedule

D. For the Sciences (Group 4 of the IB Hexagon)

Students have options depending on interests, strengths, and MPI graduation requirements.

If the sciences are your strength, you will plan on taking an experimental science course as your third two-year, High Level subject.

• If you have already taken Biology and Chemistry, you will take IB Physics SL in your junior year, and then enroll in IB/AP Physics HL in your senior year.
• If you took Physics and Chemistry, take IB Biology Sl and then AP/IB Biology HL.
• If science is not your strongest subject, take either IB Biology SL or IB Physics SL for one year. If you have finished your required biology, chemistry, and physics in the Pre-IB program, you can then take AP/IB Environmental Science SL

E. For Math (Group 5 of the IB Hexagon)
All math courses are at the Standard Level.

• Either prepare yourself for AP Calculus AB by your junior or senior year, which is also called IB Math
• Or, take Advanced Math Studies A/B, which is also called IB Math Studies.

F. For your 6th subject of the IB Hexagon
You may choose to take an art class as your third two-year High Level course

• Please note—students must be recommended for an Arts HL subject. Please see Mr. R Kevin Doyle if you have questions.
• Or, you can take an extra science here at Standard Level
• Or, you can take ITGS as either a one year Standard Level class or as your third two-year High Level class if you want to do science as a Standard Level.

G. For your other requirement:
Each student must also enroll in Theory of Knowledge (TOK), which is taken during the junior and senior years,

Note:

1. IB World Languages for Beginners classes are taught over two years, as they only meet twice a week.
2. Some of our courses are taught as AP and/or IB (such as AP Calc AB/IB Math, AP/IB Biology, AP/IB Physics, and AP/IB Environmental Science). The cumulative exam (AP or IB) taken by the students will depend on whether the student is enrolled as an IB Diploma student or not.
3. It is possible to take HL or SL classes as IB “Certificates.” If so, students will still enroll in the two year classes (IB English HL, IB History of the Americas HL, AP/IB Biology, AP/IB Physics, IB ITGS HL, IB Music, Dance, Theater or Visual Arts HL)

For those of you wondering what a full diploma schedule might look like, see the example below:

In this case, the student had taken physics and chemistry prior to his junior year, and so took IB Biology in order to complete his grad requirements

Students may take individual IB classes rather than the full program (the 6 course subjects, TOK, the EE, and CAS.) Upon successful completion of course requirements, including internal projects and the final cumulative exam, student receive a certificate of credit for that course.

For the IB, assessment is a combination of Internal assessments that are given by the teachers and external assessments given by the IB. These range from independent to closely supervised, and no single assessment component is worth less than 20 percent or more than 50 percent.

Example: for IB English, students will submit:
One comparative paper assessed by the teacher and the IB
One prepared oral examination assessed by the teacher and the IB
Two timed written exams (one based upon works read, one based upon unseen passage)

Depending on the particular class, students will perform these Assessment Types

• Oral exams and presentations
• Multiple choice
• Short answer
• Portfolio/project
• Essay
• Exhibition
• Performance
• Independent research

The scores are made available in July.

For the AP, students take a cumulative exam (assessed by the CollegeBoard) at the end of the course period (one year). The scores are made available in July.

Many universities will grant college credit or advanced standing for IB/AP courses. Policies will vary from institution to institution, so it's best to go to the school's website for their specific policies.

Students receiving the full IB Diploma, based on their scores could receive up to one year of credit or advanced standing.  There are some schools that are flexible and grant additional credit.  Credit or advanced standing is typically granted with scores of 5 or better.

Students not entering the full IB Diploma Programme but taking individual IB courses can usually receive credit or advanced standing for Higher Level courses with a 5 or better.  Many schools will not grant credit for Standard Level courses unless they are completing the full Diploma.  Students completing AP courses can usually receive credit or advanced standing with a minimum score of a 3 or 4.

Full IB Diploma students do carry the most rigorous and challenging course of work in the school. The Diploma Programme is not designed so that only the most accomplished students can pass it, nor do most of the classes require previous knowledge in the discipline for the student to be successful. However, the Diploma Programme does require students to be:

Willing to challenge themselves;

Self-advocates (willing to see teachers outside of class;)

Self-motivating;

Willing to prioritize IB work over other courses that may not fit in the schedule. Because full Diploma students must take seven courses overall, some of which occur over two years, this may limit choices in other programs. However, the MPSA dept and the IB/AP Director work closely to ensure that students wanting both the MPSA certificate and the IB Diploma have a good chance of making it work.

If an IB course is a fifth class the student cannot drop an IB course after ten school days. Before ten school days students can drop the IB course as long as it is replaced by another course. It is required that four of the five courses be academic courses.

If the IB course is a sixth or seventh class then it can be dropped. After ten school days any course dropped will appear as a WD (withdrawal) on the transcript. In the case of a year-long course, the WD will also be listed for the second semester.

All grad requirements are the same with the exception of PE and PVA. IB course options have been created to match many of the school’s graduation requirements (such as four full years of language arts, three years of laboratory science, one semester of technology.)

IB students need two semesters of P.E. not three, and two semesters of the arts not four. Non IB DP students: three semesters of PE w/ swim test; four semesters of PVA. IB DP students: two semesters of PE w/ swim test; two semesters of PVA.

If the student drops the IB Diploma Programme, they are expected to fulfill the same PE and PVA requirements as non-IB students.