The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, usually called the IB Diploma or DP, is a two-year pre-university programme for students aged 16 to 19. Students normally study six subjects, complete three compulsory core components, and undertake internally and externally assessed work. Their final diploma score is out of 45 points, and earning 24 points alone does not guarantee the diploma because several additional passing conditions apply.
This guide explains how subject choices, Higher Level and Standard Level courses, the DP core, assessment, grading, and examinations fit together. It also shows how to turn subject knowledge into marks through deliberate question practice and careful review of worked solutions.
How the IB Diploma is structured
The official IB Diploma Programme overview describes a curriculum built around six subject groups and the DP core. This structure requires breadth across languages, humanities, sciences, and mathematics while allowing greater depth in selected Higher Level subjects.
Most full Diploma Programme students take one subject from each group. However, the arts subject may normally be replaced by another language, individuals and societies, or science subject, subject to what the school offers and any applicable diploma rules.
Group
Area of study
Examples
1
Studies in language and literature
Language A: Literature, Language A: Language and Literature
2
Language acquisition
Language B, language ab initio
3
Individuals and societies
Economics, History, Geography, Psychology
4
Sciences
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science
5
Mathematics
Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches, Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation
6
The arts
Visual Arts, Music, Theatre, Film
Exact subject availability differs between schools. Some interdisciplinary subjects can satisfy more than one group requirement, but students must still complete six subjects overall. The provide the authoritative framework, while RevisionDojo’s can help students compare subjects and revision resources.
Students take between three and four Higher Level subjects, with their remaining subjects at Standard Level. The IB recommends approximately 240 teaching hours for each HL course and 150 teaching hours for each SL course.
HL is not simply SL with a harder examination. It usually involves additional content, greater conceptual depth, or more demanding assessment, although the precise difference depends on the subject. Both levels receive grades from 1 to 7 and contribute equally to the headline total, but separate minimum point conditions apply to the HL and SL groups.
Subject levels should be selected with university plans in mind. For example, a competitive engineering course may expect Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches HL and Physics HL, while a medicine programme may specify particular sciences. University recognition is widespread, but admissions and advanced-standing policies vary, so students should check the IB university recognition database and each institution’s own requirements.
What are TOK, the Extended Essay, and CAS?
Every full Diploma Programme student completes the three-part DP core. These components are compulsory rather than optional additions.
Theory of knowledge
Theory of knowledge, or TOK, examines how knowledge is produced, justified, interpreted, and challenged. Students consider questions about evidence, certainty, perspective, values, and methods of inquiry across different areas of knowledge.
Under the current course, TOK is assessed through an exhibition and a 1,600-word essay. The exhibition connects TOK ideas to real-world objects, while the essay requires a sustained response to one of the prescribed titles issued for the examination session. The official TOK overview explains these components and their purpose.
Extended Essay
The Extended Essay, or EE, is an independent research project culminating in a formal paper of up to 4,000 words. Students formulate a focused research question, investigate it using methods appropriate to the chosen subject or interdisciplinary pathway, and construct an evidence-based argument.
The EE is externally assessed, although a school supervisor provides guidance and conducts required reflection sessions. It develops research, referencing, evaluation, and academic writing skills, but the final work must remain the student’s own. The IB Extended Essay guidance provides the current official outline.
Creativity, activity, service
Creativity, activity, service, or CAS, involves experiential learning alongside academic study. Creativity includes creative thinking and expression, activity involves physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, and service is an unpaid, voluntary exchange with a learning benefit.
CAS is not awarded a numerical grade and adds no points to the diploma total. Nevertheless, students must complete it, undertake a CAS project, reflect on their experiences, and provide evidence of achieving the seven learning outcomes. Contrary to a persistent misconception, the current official requirement is not a fixed total of 150 hours; schools monitor completion against the programme requirements and learning outcomes described in the official CAS overview.
How IB assessment works
The Diploma Programme uses both external assessment and internal assessment. Written examinations at the end of the programme form the main basis of assessment in most subjects, but their weighting and format vary by course.
External assessment can also include coursework completed under teacher supervision, such as the EE and TOK essay. Internal assessments, commonly called IAs, may include scientific investigations, mathematics explorations, language orals, fieldwork, performances, or other subject-specific tasks. Teachers mark some of this work before the IB moderates a sample to maintain common standards across schools.
The distinction between internal and external assessment concerns how work is marked, not whether it matters. An IA may account for a substantial part of a subject grade, so treating coursework as secondary to examinations can materially reduce the final result. The IB’s assessment and examinations explanation outlines the system and common assessment formats.
Academic integrity applies to every component. Students must acknowledge sources, submit authentic work, avoid unauthorized collaboration, and follow examination rules. AI tools may support learning only within the IB’s requirements and the school’s policy; they must never replace the student’s authorship or be concealed when acknowledgment is required.
How IB Diploma points are calculated
Each of the six subjects receives a grade from 7, the highest, to 1, the lowest. Subject grades can therefore contribute a maximum of 42 points.
TOK and the EE are graded from A to E. Their combined results produce between zero and three additional core points, while CAS contributes no points. The maximum diploma score is therefore 45.
Component
Maximum contribution
Six subjects
42 points
TOK and EE combined
3 points
CAS
0 points, but completion is compulsory
Maximum total
45 points
A student needs at least 24 total points, but this is only one condition. According to the IB’s current DP passing criteria, the diploma also requires:
completion of CAS requirements;
a grade in every subject, TOK, and the EE;
no subject grade below 2;
no more than two subject grades of 2;
no more than three subject grades of 3 or below;
at least 12 points across HL subjects, with the three highest HL grades counting when four HLs are taken;
at least 9 points across SL subjects, or at least 5 when only two SL subjects are taken; and
no grade E in TOK or the EE.
This means a student can score 24 or more and still not receive the diploma. For example, strong SL grades cannot compensate for an HL total below the required threshold.
How to prepare for IB examinations effectively
Knowing the syllabus is necessary, but examinations measure whether students can apply that knowledge in the required form and within a time limit. Command terms, mark allocations, response structure, calculations, evidence selection, and evaluation all influence how many marks an answer receives.
A productive revision cycle has five stages:
Learn a small syllabus area. Use class materials or focused IB study notes to clarify the concepts.
Attempt questions without assistance. RevisionDojo’s IB Questionbank allows targeted practice by subject and topic.
Review the worked method. Compare not only the final answer but also the sequence, terminology, evidence, and reasoning used to earn each mark.
Record the cause of each lost mark. Separate knowledge gaps from misread command terms, incomplete working, weak evaluation, and time-management errors.
Repeat under timed conditions. Progress from individual questions to mixed sets and complete papers, including examiner-written predicted papers where appropriate.
The highest-leverage habit is often attempting a real question before watching its solution. RevisionDojo’s subject-by-subject IB resources, including past-paper sections with per-question video walkthroughs where available, let students compare their approach with a complete worked method. A video is useful only if the student then closes it, reconstructs the solution independently, and attempts a similar question.
Jojo AI can help identify why an answer missed marks and direct the student toward a weaker topic. It should support the feedback loop rather than become a substitute for producing an answer under exam conditions.
Common misunderstandings about the IB Diploma
“A total of 24 always means a pass.” It does not. All subject, level, core, and CAS conditions must also be satisfied.
“CAS adds bonus points.” CAS is compulsory but contributes no numerical points.
“Every student must take an arts subject.” Students can usually replace Group 6 with another permitted subject from Groups 1 to 5.
“Internal assessment is informal schoolwork.” It contributes to the official subject result and may be moderated or externally assessed.
“HL subjects are worth more diploma points.” Both HL and SL are graded from 1 to 7, although HL courses involve more teaching time and have a separate minimum total.
“Reading notes is sufficient exam preparation.” Notes establish understanding, but question practice teaches students how to convert that understanding into marks.
Conclusion
The IB Diploma is a two-year programme combining six academic subjects with TOK, the Extended Essay, and CAS. Its final score is out of 45, but the diploma is awarded only when the total-point threshold and all additional passing conditions are met.
Effective preparation should balance syllabus understanding, coursework management, retrieval practice, and timed examination work. RevisionDojo can support that process through Study Notes, the Questionbank, Jojo AI feedback, Predicted Papers, and per-question video walkthroughs. Start with a question you cannot yet answer confidently, study the worked method, and then reproduce the reasoning without assistance.
