IB Programme
At the American School of Madrid, the International Baccalaureate programme provides a curriculum framework whose purpose is to prepare students for life beyond secondary school, where students are given the opportunity to challenge themselves at the highest levels of academic rigor as well as learn critical 21st-century skills.
All students who take IB courses learn thinking, self-management, communication, social, and research skills. Beginning in Grade 9, students work with our counselors and the IB Coordinator to determine the balance of courses that will best meet their needs, interests and post-secondary plans.
IB average total points for ASM in 2022: 36.4
World Average 2022: 31.98
What is the IB?
The International Baccalaureate Programme is a two-year, pre-university course of study designed to the highest academic standards. The program is a comprehensive curriculum, leading to externally assessed examinations for students in Grades 11 and 12. Students may sit for examinations in a single course or work toward a full IB Diploma. The course of study for the diploma is well-balanced; it requires six selected subject areas as well as an extended essay, a Theory of Knowledge course, and participation in the extra-curricular Creativity, Action, Service Program (CAS).
Why the IB?
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Nationally and internationally recognized by top colleges and universities.
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Considered the gold standard in college preparatory curriculum.
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IB diploma students are more than 20% more likely to be admitted to the most prestigious universities in the U.S., including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Duke, and Stanford.
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Required for acceptance to UK and EU universities.
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Ability to earn college credits.
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Challenging, in-depth, creative curriculum with service-oriented activities.
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IB students are better able than their peers to cope with demanding workloads, manage their time, and meet the expectations placed on them.
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Provides the opportunities for students to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically.
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A well-rounded program, providing both breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding, studying courses from six subject groups.
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Requires students to study at least two languages and increase understanding of cultures, including their own.
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Explicitly structured to make connections across traditional academic disciplines and explore the nature of knowledge through the program's unique theory of knowledge course.
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Provides the opportunity to undertake in-depth research into an area of interest through the lens of one or more academic disciplines in the extended essay.
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Enhances students’ personal and interpersonal development through creativity, action and service.
IB Coordinator
Dr. Martina Bree
IB Coordinator
Sandra Perez
IB Assistant
Students pursuing the IB Diploma study six subjects including the arts, experimental sciences, individuals and societies, language, second language, and math and computer science. Typically, three subjects are higher level; the remaining three are at standard level. In addition to specified courses, the IBDP has three central parts: (see below)