IB

International Baccalaureate Courses

The International Baccalaureate Program (IB) has earned a reputation for rigorous assessment, giving IB diploma holders access to the world’s leading universities.

As an internationally recognized program of study, IB is considered the most rigorous curriculum offered at the high school level. The curriculum is typically taken during the junior and senior years and is based on learning and assessment across a continuum of education during both years. IB offers students in high school the opportunity to earn the most prestigious secondary school credential, the IB diploma. (Students have the option of earning their diploma, IBCP, or enrolling in individual classes).

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program is an expanded framework of international education that incorporates the vision and educational principles of the IB into local programs to address the needs of students engaged in career-related studies.

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IB Career-Related Programme Logo

Competitive

CMH graduates have been accepted to highly competitive colleges and universities with IB courses on their transcripts.

Progressive

Upon acceptance to colleges/universities CMH graduates have reported receiving between 30-33 college credits for their IB classes.

Experienced

CMH alumni have reported being better prepared for their college, university and career experience after taking IB classes.

Intelligent

In the 2019-2020 school year every student taking a IB Math course scored a 5 or higher on the placement exam.

Benefits of Taking International Baccalaureate Courses

The aim of the International Baccalaureate Career-related Program (IBCP) at CMH is to provide students with both an academic and practical foundation to support their further studies and specialized training. Therefore, the IBCP will combine the highly regarded IB diploma program courses with the approved career-related study of PLTW or AP Computer Science, plus a unique IBCP core.

The IB diploma grading system is criterion-referenced, which means that each student’s performance is measured against well-defined levels of achievement. These are consistent from one examination session to the next and are applied equally to all schools.

Universities worldwide accept the IB diploma and its certificates for admission, scholarships, and credits. The program is a comprehensive two-year curriculum that encourages thoughtful analysis from a global perspective.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Program

Students who complete study in all six academic categories (English, World Language, History, Science, Math, and Art/Elective), fulfill IB core requirements, and earn a cumulative score of 24 points or higher through IB assessments will earn the IB Diploma.

Students who participate in the IB diploma program may enhance their chances to earn acceptance to universities. Also, many universities generously award scholarships and college credit for the work International Baccalaureate students do in high school.

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International Baccalaureate Career-Related Program (IBCP)

Catholic Memorial High School aims to enable students to become self-confident, internationally-minded learners. The International Baccalaureate (IB) program has expanded its framework of international education by incorporating the vision and educational principles of the IB into local programs to address the needs of students engaged in career-related studies.

The three career pathways at Catholic Memorial are through information technology, engineering or biomedical science. The aim of the International Baccalaureate Career-related Program (IBCP) at CMH is to provide students with both an academic and practical foundation to support their further studies and specialized training. Therefore, the IBCP will combine the highly regarded IB diploma program courses with the approved career-related study of PLTW or AP Computer Science, plus a unique IBCP core. 

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IB course offerings and program requirements

  • IB Literature and Writing*
  • IB/AP English 
  • IB History of the Americas 1
  • IB History of the Americas 2 
  • IB/AP Macroeconomics 
  • IB French 3, 4, 5
  • IB Spanish 3, 4, 5, 6 
  • IB Latin 3, 4
  • IB Biology 1, 2 
  • IB Physics 
  • IB Chemistry 
  • IB Pre-Calculus 
  • IB Art 
  • IB Music 
  • IB Business 
  • IB Geography 
  • IB/AP Psychology 
  • IB Personal & Professional Skills
  • IB Theory of Knowledge

Beginning junior year, students who seek the IB diploma must:

  1. Select three courses at the Higher Level (HL). HL classes run over the course of two years (junior and senior year) and are worth one CMH credit each year. You may choose from the following options: Biology, Business, English, History, Latin and Visual Art.

Note: Junior year, you may test in a maximum of two SL courses.

  1. Select three courses at the Standard Level (SL). Most SL classes run over the course of one year (two semesters), but some SL courses run for two years. You may choose from the following options: Business, Chemistry, Economics, French, Geography, Pre-Calculus, Latin, Physics, Psychology, Spanish, Music and Visual Art.
  1. Of the six courses (HL and SL) chosen, you must select at least one course from each group listed below:
    • Group 1 Language A1 (English) 
    • Group 2 Second Language 
    • Group 3 Individuals and Societies (Social Studies) 
    • Group 4 Experimental Sciences or Computer Science 
    • Group 5 Mathematics 
    • Group 6 The Arts/Elective 
  1. Fulfill the service requirement in the Creativity, Action, and Service program (CAS)
  2. Take the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course during junior and senior year 
  3. Complete an Extended Essay
  4. Also, remember the CMH graduation requirements must be fulfilled. 

In order to fit everything into an IB diploma candidate’s schedule, students may fulfill their junior PE requirement by participating in the same sport during their freshman and sophomore years.

Beginning the junior year of high school, the program framework supports three interconnected elements that must be fulfilled: 

  1. Complete, and test in, at least 2 IB courses during the junior and senior years (SL or HL). Note: Junior year, you may only test in one SL course. 
  2. Complete at least 2 PLTW/AP Computer Science courses. IBCP students must take at least one course junior year and one course senior year. 
  3. Complete an IB World Language course, which is in addition to the two other required IB courses. To fulfill IB concurrency of learning expectations as well as the language portfolio, students need to take world language courses during both junior and senior years. 
  1. Satisfactorily complete the IBCP core:
    • Personal and Professional Skills Course (PPS) - This course completed during junior and senior year will explore professionally and ethically based circumstances that will promote career-related skills as students move forward in their lives. 
    • Language Development - Each IBCP student must keep a Language Portfolio of language experiences that they are engaged in through their world language class, community and service experience, and IB Career Related courses. Language development requires all IBCP students, regardless of their choice of IB Career Related Program courses, to improve their language proficiency in a second language.
    • Reflective Project - An extended work that can be submitted in a variety of formats. It emphasizes an ethical dimension associated with a particular issue drawn from the student’s career-related studies. This project will be due near the end of the two years of the IBCP program and submitted to IBO for moderation. The IB designated time for this is 50 hours over the two years. This project will be worked on independently during the PPS (#135/156) course. 
    • Community & Service - The focus here is on service learning. Specific needs in the community, as decided by the student, should be met and linked to the student’s specific career-related studies and their Reflective Project. IB designates 50 hours over the two years for this requirement.
  2. CMH graduation requirements must be fulfilled. 
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In order to fit everything into an IB Career-related Program candidate’s schedule, students may fulfill their junior PE requirement by participating in the same sport during their freshman and sophomore years.

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