Year 2020-2021 IB Diploma results
The IB statistical bulletins, published after each exam session, are a treasure trove of data. From the provisional May 2019 statistical bulletin, which will be finalised once any outstanding remarks have been completed in September, we learn a lot about global performance in the IB Diploma. For example, this exam session, there were 2,926 schools with 166,278 candidates, and the mean global performance was 29.63 points. Globally, 77.4% of those candidates passed the IB Diploma. Digging down into the details, we also learn that the most popular extended essay subject choice on the planet was history, and 11 students across the world – presumably only at a small number of schools! – studied Ukrainian A literature standard level. We even discover that all of those students achieved a level 6 or 7, so there will have been some very happy Ukrainian students celebrating somewhere.
This bulletin provides some context for our own results here at ISL. We had 91 full IB Diploma candidates, and 89 achieved their IB Diploma: which is 98% of our cohort. Their mean score was 36.3. (For comparison, in the May 2018 session, our mean score was 35.4.) Around the world, 213 students got 45 points – and two of those were from ISL. Four of our students got 44 points, and 28% of the year group achieved 40 points or more. Overall, 91% of our students scored above the world mean. These are outstanding outcomes for a non-selective school.
Fascinating as all this is for fans of big data and percentages, of course, what is most important is the individuals who are at the heart of these results. ISL’s results are simply a corollary of the way in which each of our students took their work seriously and committed to industrious revision following the January mocks. They also stem from the careful guidance and unflagging assistance they received from their teachers, and the constant support provided at home by parents and guardians. The results are the communal outcome of a great number of individual successes. We wish the best of luck to each of our graduates as they embark on gap year adventures around the globe, or start the next phase of their education. It is clear – and from more than just the statistics – that there are bright futures ahead of them. Thank you for being a fantastic group – we are proud of all of you.
