8 Reasons to Study the International Baccalaureate
February 6, 2023
The International Baccalaureate is a world-renowned, highly respected academic curriculum for students who seek a challenging education with a global perspective.
Like the Advanced Placement academic program, the IB is known as a strong college preparatory program that teaches valuable skills and allows students to earn college credit.
So what is it that makes the IB program unique? What are the reasons to choose an IB program in high school over any other academic pathway?
Rigorous Authorization Process for Schools
First, not every school is allowed to offer the IB. To teach IB programs, which consists of four age-level programs tailored to students in preschool-grade 12, schools must go through a multi-year authorization process led by the International Baccalaureate Organization.
Once authorized, a school earns the right to call itself an IB World School. Each IB World School makes a commitment to constantly grow, reflect, learn, and develop. IB World Schools are held to an international standard by the IBO and submit to regular reviews and evaluations.
Rigorous, Respected Academics for Students
The IB program also offers rigorous academics to its students, and teaches students to recognize links between core disciplines. Personal, community, and global connections are made in the classroom, and students look for and make such connections outside of the classroom as well, and then develop and incorporate these connections into personal projects of study at school.
“The IB Diploma Programme is truly the best standard in education,” said Dwight Global’s Elizabeth Hutton, IB Diploma Program Coordinator. “ It is the only educational framework that places equal importance on skills as it does a world-class academic education. Students matriculate from the program knowing how to learn! Social and communication are explicitly taught and give students the confidence to become independent thinkers.
World-Renowned IB Diploma Program
The IB culminates in the IB Diploma Program, an optional, highly respected, two-year program for high school juniors and seniors. At the conclusion of the program, students have the opportunity to earn the prestigious, world-recognized IB Diploma.
The IB DP provides a strong academic framework for educating internationally-minded problem-solvers, and students in the IB DP program are held to international standards. They take IB exams at the end of their studies, and demonstrate their knowledge compared with other IB students all over the world. Additionally, students who earn certain scores on their IB exams are eligible to receive credit at many colleges and universities.
Dwight Global Online School is an independent school for students in grades 6-12 that offers the IB DP. Dwight Global’s flagship school, Dwight New York, founded in 1872, is a pioneer in the Americas to offer all four IB programs. That trailblazing tradition continues today. In 2021, Dwight School was honored to be the first school in the world to launch the IB Diploma program online, through Dwight Global.
Students Learn to Learn
IB students learn content and skills, and they also focus on the process of learning itself. This deliberate pedagogical focus gives students the tools they need to become lifelong learners and tackle new subjects and problems beyond school.
The IB Learner Profile, always forefront in an IB student’s mind, is a compilation of ten essential characteristics that inspire students in their development. These characteristics include Inquiry, Knowledgeable, Principled, Open-minded, Balanced, Reflective, Caring, Communicator, Thinkers, and Risk Takers. Students gain skills in asking questions, learning independently, thinking critically, and reflecting on strengths and weaknesses in order to support future learning.
Another pinnacle of the IB studies is the Theory of Knowledge class, a mandatory and essential component of the IB DP that asks students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, and on how we claim to know what we know.
Students Hone Research and Writing Skills
The Extended Essay, an independent research and writing project of a student’s own choosing, is another crucial element of the IB Diploma, and is unique to the IB program.
Under the guidance of a faculty mentor, students choose a topic and undertake advanced independent research, developing highly honed organizational skills in the process. After researching, they write a lengthy research paper. Along the way, students are required to have three reflection sessions, culminating in a final interview. These advanced research and writing skills, along with interviewing skills, are important for college placement and sought by employers worldwide.
Students Receive A Theoretical and Practical Education
The IB program ensures that students put their learning into practice. Another mandatory and crucial element of the IB is student participation in CAS – Creativity, Activity, Service projects, where students learn through experience and take action in the service of others. Students pursue their own interests and skills through projects, clubs, community service, sports, and other co-curricular activities. CAS helps to shape students into well-rounded, motivated, engaged people.
Students Learn Effective Time Management
The key to good independent study is time management, a skill picked up instinctively by IB students. Establishing good study habits, setting aside time for assignments, developing individual revision techniques, and resisting distractions are all byproducts of an IB education.
Solid University Preparation and College Admissions Acceptance
Because the IB is offered worldwide and recognized by prestigious colleges and universities internationally, the IB has become a standardized, well-known and respected benchmark for excellence.
IB students graduate confident in their abilities and ready to advance to the next level. They are given the tools and support they need to become the multi-talented, versatile students universities seek to enroll. Dwight Global students receive expert college counseling beginning in 9th grade and go on to attend the best colleges and universities in the world.
For more information about the online IB program and the IB DP at Dwight, visit this link.