The IB Programmes
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) is a nonprofit educational foundation. Their mission is as follows:
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments, and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
Founded in 1968, they currently work with 4,612 schools in 153 countries. In Wisconsin there are currently 45 programmes located within 30 different schools.
Levels of Programmes:
- The Primary Years Programme (PYP) for pupils aged 3 to 12 focuses on the development of the whole child in the classroom and in the world outside.
- The Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students aged 11 to 16 provides a framework of academic challenge and life skills through embracing and transcending traditional school subjects.
- The Diploma Programme for students aged 16 to 19 is a demanding two-year curriculum that meets the needs of highly motivated students, and leads to a diploma that is recognized by leading universities around the world.
International Baccalaureate Program for Career-Related Studies
International Baccalaureate (IB) offers a fourth program, the IB Career-related Programme (CP), an innovative education framework for students who want to combine IB with a focus on a career pathway. It provides students 16 to 19 an opportunity to take Diploma Programme classes and to simultaneously pursue an approved career-related course of study.
The CP enables students to:
- Develop a broad range of career-related competencies and to deepen their understanding in general areas of knowledge.
- Prepare for effective participation in an ever-changing world of work.
- Foster the attributes of the IB Learner Profile.
- Develop skills for the 21st century.
Learn more about the CP.
To learn more about the International Baccalaureate, visit their IB website or access a copy of What Is An IB Education?
To learn more about the Wisconsin Association of IB World Schools (WAIBWS), visit their website at WAIBWS
AP and IB Test Fees for Low-Income Students - Requirements in State Law
Wisconsin public school districts are responsible by law to pay Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) exam fees for students that qualify for free or reduced-price meals. This requirement is found in Wis. Stat. sec. 120.12(22). The full text is as follows:
Wis. Stat. sec. 120.12 (22) Advanced Placement Examinations. Using federal, state, local, or private funds, pay the costs of advanced placement examinations taken by pupils enrolled in the school district who satisfy the income eligibility criteria for free or reduced-price lunches in the federal school lunch program under 42 USC 1758 (b) (1).
School districts pay a reduced fee for AP exams. For the 2022-23 school year, AP exams ordered on-time cost $97 (except for AP Seminar and AP Research exams which cost $145 per exam). The College Board provides a $33 fee reduction for students that qualify for free or reduced-price meals and the school is expected to forgo its $9 rebate for the exam. School districts, then, pay $53 per exam for students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Similarly, the school district would pay $101 for each AP Seminar exam & each AP Research exam for students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.There is no limit to the number of exams students can take.
There is no reduced fee for IB exams, so school districts are responsible for the full cost.
AP and IB Test Fees for Low-Income Students - Use of Title IVA Well-Rounded Educational Opportunities Funds
Districts that receive Title IVA federal funds can use a portion of those funds to cover the cost of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams for students who are eligible for free or reduced price meals. As noted in the U.S. Dept. of Education's Non-Regulatory Guidance, the Well-Rounded Educational Opportunities language in section 4107 describes how an allowable use of these funds can be for “[p]romoting access to accelerated learning opportunities including Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, dual or concurrent enrollment programs and early college high schools.” More information about the Well-Rounded Educational Opportunities Non-Regulatory Guidance can be found at Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants .