The International Baccalaureate® (IB)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation that started in 1968. There are well over 1,000,000 IB students around the world experiencing its programs. At the heart of IB is a mission ”to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” (IBO.org). Through its success overtime, the IB has developed a reputation for quality, high standards and pedagogical leadership.
IB Diploma Programme (DP) at Académie Lafayette
Académie Lafayette was authorized in 2022 to offer the prestigious IB Diploma Programme (DP) to students in grades 11 and 12. ALIHS students have an advantage when participating in the IB DP because of the preparation they have received as MYP students in years prior. ALIHS is the only high school in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area to offer both the International Baccalaureate MYP and the DP.
Like in the MYP, ALIHS students in grades 11 and 12 strive to demonstrate the attributes of the IB Learner Profile, develop strong Approaches to Learning skills, and show a commitment to creativity, activity and service through participation in the Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) program. All students in grades 11 and 12 enroll in at least some IB DP courses. All students have the opportunity to earn either IB Diploma Course Certificates in specific subjects, the full IB Diploma, or the IB Bilingual Diploma.
Requirements for IB DP Course Certificates, full IB Diploma, and IB Bilingual Diploma
A student may choose to pursue a DP Course Certificate in any of the DP courses offered at ALIHS. Pursuing this certificate allows students to engage in advanced coursework that is often compared to the rigor in university courses. To pursue the certificate, the student must pass three or four exams developed by the International Baccalaureate. The assessments are scored against an international set of standards, and then the student is awarded an overall score that can be shared with the universities of their choice. Depending on the university, many students earn college credit for IB DP Course Certificates.
Students who pursue the full IB Diploma must pass the subject-specific exams in all six required subject groups. Additionally, full Diploma students must complete the Theory or Knowledge (TOK) course, write and pass the Extended Essay, and successfully complete the requirements of the Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) Program.
Académie Lafayette’s position as a K-8 French immersion provides a unique opportunity to support students in pursuit of the full IB Bilingual Diploma at ALIHS. Students who wish to work towards the IB Bilingual Diploma must complete all of the same requirements of the non-bilingual IB Diploma, but with the additional requirement of completing DP course exams in French for one course outside of Language Acquisition subject. This requirement allows students to demonstrate French language fluency. The courses offered in French for this purpose are dependent upon staffing expertise and student requests each year.
Course grades in all IB Diploma courses are communicated on a 7-point scale. Similarly to the MYP, DP course curriculum is developed to meet IB subject-specific aims and objectives set for all IB World Schools. Student work is assessed using internationally recognized criteria.
Each DP subject group has its own detailed description of student achievement at each of the seven achievement levels.. The chart below describes the traditional letter grade conversion that is used at ALIHS when determining GPA and processing transcripts.
| Overall level of achievement 1-7 | Letter Grade
Correspondence |
| 7 | A |
| 6 | A |
| 5 | A- |
| 4 | B |
| 3 | C |
| 2 | D |
| 1 | F |