Part I:Overview
Part II:IB Learner Profile
Part III:Two Pathways: IB Diploma or IB Certificates
Part IV:International Baccalaureate Organization
Part V:What universities say about IB
Part VI:History of IB at SYVUHS

Part I: Overview

  International Baccalaureate Organization 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 programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

  What is IB?
The International Baccalaureate Program is a comprehensive and challenging curriculum. The IB program encourages students to:

  • Ask challenging questions;
  • Learn how to learn;
  • Develop a strong sense of their own identity and culture; and
  • Develop the ability to communicate with and understand people from other countries and cultures.
The IB program contains four elements: curriculum, student assessments, professional development and school evaluation.

  Curriculum:
Beyond teaching the necessary subjects, IB emphasizes critical thinking, analysis and the interconnections between subjects. (See The IB Learner Profile below). Events being covered in History will also be explored through literature in English. The assigned reading in English comes from authors around the world, translated from many languages. Physical Education classes not only encourage fitness and healthy living but also engage the students in thinking about the mechanics of healthy activity by designing and teaching an activity. Language classes include investigation of culture, socioeconomics and geography. The CAS (Creativity, Action and Service) requirement encourages students to develop skills and gain experience outside of school that excite them and serve the greater community as a counterbalance to academic studies. The curriculum goes through a continuous review cycle involving practicing teachers around the world.

  Student Assessment:
Students are assigned projects and given exams that will demonstrate their understanding of a subject. Randomly selected projects are sent to the IB office in Cardiff, England for review. Material from all Personal Projects, Extended Essays, and IB Tests are sent offsite for evaluation.

  School Evaluation:
Along with evaluations made by reviewing materials as noted under Assessments, and the school is visited every 5 years by representatives from IB.

  Professional Development:
Teachers receive ongoing special training in order to teach the IB curriculum.

  The IB curriculum prepares students for college.
IB is recognized by colleges and universities worldwide as a comprehensive and rigorous academic curriculum and many institutions award course credits for performance on the Higher Level IB Exams. The particulars of the IB curriculum—the format and types of research, reports and essays assigned, the classroom seminars, and the IB Exams—are similar in form to many universities and colleges. IB alumni report that while college course work is still challenging they seem to have an easier time adjusting to college work than their peers who have not participated in an IB program.

  Student work is assessed against consistent, referenced criteria,
not against the work of other students. Whether an IB student goes on to college or university or not he/she has completed a program of education that emphasizes high academic standards, international mindedness and has developed learning skills that will last a lifetime.
Top of Page

Part II: The IB Learner Profile

The aim of all IB programs is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet help to create a better and more peaceful world.

IB learners strive to be:

Inquirers: They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.

Knowledgeable: They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.

Thinkers: They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators: They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.

Principled: They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.

Open-minded: They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Caring: They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.

Risk-takers: They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.

Balanced: They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well being for themselves and others.

Reflective: They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
Top of Page

Part III: Two Pathways: IB Diploma or IB Certificates

Students can choose one of two pathways in the IB Program: a) the Diploma or b) one or more Certificates. In 9th and 10th grades, students take Pre-IB courses to prepare themselves for the rigor and concepts of IB courses, which are taken in 11th and 12th grades. Proper planning of courses from 8th grade on is beneficial for all IB Program students, but it is especially so for those students who are considering the IB Diploma path.

The IB Diploma Pathway
To earn the IB Diploma, a student must successfully complete:

  • At least one course and an IB examination in each of the six subject area groups listed below. To allow for specialization, normally three subjects (but not more than four) are chosen at Higher Level (HL), and to ensure a broad education, three subjects are chosen at Standard Level (SL).
Higher Level subjects require intensive, in-depth study over two years. These generally reflect a student's areas of interest and academic strength. Standard Level subjects are less demanding, but are still on par with introductory college level courses. SL courses require one full year of study.

Both levels of study lead to exams, which students must pass to receive the diploma. In addition to the exams, students are evaluated on a portion of their regular course work (for example, lab books, homework assignments, projects, etc.) completed in each class.

Subject areas include:

  • English
  • Foreign Language
  • Experimental Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Social Science
  • The arts: Drama, Music, Visual
  • Plus Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Extended Essay, Community, Action & Service (CAS)

The IB Certificate Pathway A student may earn an IB Certificate in one or more of the six subject areas listed above by pursuing the same course of study in that subject as that required for the Diploma and successfully passing the corresponding exam. The last three requirements listed above for the Diploma (TOK, Extended Essay and CAS) are not part of the Certificate option.
Top of Page

Part IV: International Baccalaureate Program

The International Baccalaureate Program is a non-profit organization, created in 1968, that is growing rapidly in the United States and worldwide. There are currently 111 IB schools in the state of California. This is an increase of over 76% in total California IB schools since SYUHS became the second high school on the Central Coast (the first, Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara) and 63rd in California to offer the world renowned International Baccalaureate Program. Currently there are 1,033 IB schools in the United States and 2,718 IB Schools worldwide in 138 countries. The following websites contain additional information:

Top of Page

Part V: What Universities Say about IB

In terms of college admission, a high school academic program that includes IB is considered more rigorous than one that includes only AP and is evaluated by colleges as such. Substantial data show that IB candidates enjoy higher acceptance rates to selective colleges than non-IB candidates, especially IB diploma candidates. Studies also show that once in college, IB candidates also perform significantly better academically than students who have had only AP experience.

  • The College of William and Mary says:
    William and Mary recognizes the International Baccalaureate program as extremely rigorous; the best possible preparation for both college work and life in the twenty-first century. In addition, we feel that the hallmarks of the IB experience - an international perspective, an interdisciplinary approach to learning, a commitment to service, and an emphasis on critical reading and analytical writing - are also the hallmarks of a William and Mary education. We encourage completion of the full IB diploma and will give special consideration for admission to students who have done so. We also award credit based on IB higher-level examinations. Score requirements are determined by individual departments.
     
  • Dr. Eugene Carson of Virginia Tech states:
    . . . IB students who attended that university [Virginia Tech] as freshmen significantly outperformed all other freshmen, including students who had taken Advanced Placement courses.
     
  • The admissions director of Harvard states:
    GPA is not nearly as important a factor in university admission as the IB Diploma. If a student has to choose, choose the Diploma over protecting the GPA.
     
  • Harvard
    Success in an IB program correlates well with success at Harvard. We are always pleased to see the credentials of the IB Diploma Program on the transcript."
     
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    "Send us prepared students a la IB…It is the "best" high school prep curriculum an American school can offer."
     
  • Duke University
    "One of the advantages of an IB curriculum is its structure and quality. It is a coordinated program, well established, well known and well respected. We know the quality of IB courses, and we think the IB curriculum is terrific."
     
  • The University of Michigan
    A transcript that reveals a student’s enroll­ment in International Baccalaureate courses serves notice to the admissions officer that the applicant is someone who accepts rather than avoids educational challenges. Unquestionably, a school that graduates each year a number of students with International Baccalaureate diplomas has demonstrated its commitment to high educational standards and that commitment will serve to influence admissions decisions at the University of Michigan.
     
  • UCLA, Undergraduate Admissions, Fall 2009 Freshman Admission Process [Link]
    Using a broad concept of merit, [admissions] readers employ the following criteria which carry no pre-assigned weights
    • The applicant’s full record of achievement in college preparatory work in high school, including the number and rigor of courses taken and grades earned in those courses. Consideration will be given to completion of courses beyond the University’s a-g minimums; strength of the senior year course load; and performance in honors, college level, Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate Higher Level (IBHL) courses to the extent that such courses are available to the applicant.
Top of Page

Part VI: History of IB at SYVUHS

Santa Ynez Valley Union High School (SYVUHS) launched the IB Diploma Program in the fall of 2006. The first class of IB Diploma students at SYVUHS took their internationally recognized exams in spring 2008. After two years of hard work and outstanding preparation by the school’s faculty, 72% of the students achieved the highest possible scores. "A feat such as this is just one example of how the staff and students of SYUHS can set their sights on the highest goals and achieve them in a short amount of time."2 Since inception of the program, the numbers of students enrolling in IB classes were on the rise. Due to the cancellation of the IB Program, many students who invested at least one year of hard work were stripped of their opportunity to receive an IB Diploma. The IB program was in its infancy and flourishing. Our first two IB Diploma graduates were celebrated in 2009. The district experienced a large hiccup in finances this year, the school will recover, we have a strong community and our property tax dollars will continue to build our reserves. The decision to eliminate IB was swift. The Santa Ynez Valley Academic Boosters Club Plus (SYVABC+) is here offer our assistance and find creative ways to get this program back on track.

SYVUHS is a basic aid public school which means 80% of its funding comes from our local property tax dollars, the remainder comes from the State. Due to recent budget cuts to all public high schools across the state of California, our small school district’s administration was caught in a crunch. And there may be more cuts in the years to come. The SYVABC+ would like to offer help. There is a direct relationship between academic excellence in a school district and real estate property values. An enterprising school district helps build and maintain a healthy community and property values, which directly benefits our school and our community’s children, our future leaders.

Top of Page

1Fairview High School, Boulder, CO [Link]
2Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Annual Report 2007-2008 [Link]PDF

Additional portions of the above information were derived from the following websites:
  • Mira Loma High School, Sacramento, CA International Baccalaureate Parents Organization Handbook, [Link] and Fairview High School, Boulder, CO [Link]
     
  • For additional information regarding the IB Diploma Program, Troy High School (Fullerton, California) publishes an excellent IB information handbook for parents and students as well [Link]

Home | About SYVABC+ | About IB | Contact Us | Donate Now
Copyright 2009. Any information, opinions or statements contained herein are generated by the SYVABC+.