GCE AL vs IBDP results in UK

The UK Office of Qualifications and Exams Regulation has released its long-awaited report comparing various qualifications including the IB against A-Levels. The IB Diploma comes out favourably, being recognized as a good preparation for university study. Sevenoaks School will be using this report in its continued discussions with University Admissions officers, who are well aware of the skills our IB students bring to university and the likelihood of our students excelling at university.

The International Baccalaureate’s press release is here:

http://www.ibo.org/ibaem/news/documents/Ofqualreport10May2012.pdf

There have been two recent articles in The Guardian about Ofqual’s concerns over A-Level exams, one commenting on how they are getting easier and another expressing concern over the apparent grade inflation.

We have pulled together some data on the lack of grade inflation in the IB. The data clearly shows the consistent value of an IB qualification.

The first graph, presented to IB schools by Julian Metcalf, the University Liaison offer at the International Baccalaureate Schools and Colleges Association (IBSCA) (http://www.ibsca.org.uk/) compares the average UK IB score over the last 21 years (red) with the last 16 years of average A Level points (yellow).

We have compiled a list of percentages for IB scores at 38, 40 and 42 points of all IB candidates across the world. Sevenoaks’ average IB result for 2011 was 39.9 and in 2011 over 60% of our students received grades over 40.