International Baccalaureate
Worthington Kilbourne is an International Baccalaureate World School with a Diploma Programme.
Mrs. Jeannie Goodwin is the coordinator of the IB program for WKHS and is available to answer any questions you may have. Additionally, please check out the WKHS IB website.
Below is a summary of the WKHS IB program:
What makes IB at WKHS worthwhile?
• Well-rounded: you will design a curriculum that is broad-based, promoting your ability to think and act effectively under many different circumstances
• International-minded: you will be challenged to consider the contributions of other cultures to the progress of human society-- and to understand how issues close to you can be affected by global influences and in turn have global significance
• Interdisciplinary: your teachers will strive to help you discover the connections between subject areas
• Inquiry-based: you will acquire knowledge primarily through the pursuit of answers to questions and put that knowledge to work solving problems
• Student-directed: often, you and other students will be required to initiate, design, and conduct the tasks that will lead to your learning
• Collaborative: you will often work together with other students to achieve your learning goals
What kinds of students will succeed in IB at WKHS?
A student does not have to be “a genius” or in any official way identified as “gifted” to qualify to participate in IB at WKHS. There are admissions requirements listed on the next page, but none of these specify that a student must be identified as “gifted.” This is because “giftedness” is not the key to success in IB at WKHS, or in any IB Diploma Programme anywhere in the world. The keys to success are:
• Ambition: because this is a comprehensive program that requires students to complete a lot of work over the course of two years
- Commitment: because the program will consume five to seven of a student’s eight periods during the school day, and will require a lot of work to be done outside the school day
• Courage: because the program is academically challenging, intellectually rigorous, and it requires students to take on a lot of responsibility for their own learning
• Determination: because given the workload and long-term nature of the program, those who will be successful are those who have a strong determination
• Organization: because the workload will consist of short-term and long-term assignments, and the ability to plan and space out work will be very helpful, if not essential
Students who possess these traits coming into the program are likely to be successful regardless of whether they are identified as “gifted.” Structures are built into the program to assist students who require more individualized instruction. A lack of “giftedness” should not be a barrier to successful participation.
Options available to IB at WKHS Students
Students and parents should be advised that registration for IB subject exams requires students to pay fees to the IB Organization. These fees cover the administration and grading of the exams. The exams are also the way for students to potentially earn college credit. Students and their parents will be required to pay the necessary fees for the student’s first three IB exams (for example, May 2020 fees are: $119 per subject); the Worthington City School District will pay the subject fees for additional IB exams.
Option #1: IB DIPLOMA PROGRAMME STUDENT
For the student who wishes to be a candidate to earn the Diploma of the International Baccalaureate. He/she must enroll in six subject courses, one from each of the following groups:
GROUP 1: STUDIES IN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
IB English Literature HL
GROUP 2: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
IB French HL
IB Latin SL
IB Spanish HL
GROUP 3: INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETIES
IB History SL, HL
IB Psychology SL
GROUP 4: EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCES
IB Biology
IB Sports, Exercise and Health Science SL
GROUP 5: MATHEMATICS
IB Mathematics SL
GROUP 6: THE ARTS AND OTHER ELECTIVES
IB Business Management SL/HL
IB Visual Arts SL
A “Standard Level” (SL) course includes less content than a “Higher Level” (HL) course, and may be taught over a shorter period than an HL course. All HL courses are two years long, while an SL course may range from one to two years.
To earn the Diploma of the International Baccalaureate, a student must successfully complete the exams for one course in each of the six Subject Groups (a total of six IB Subject courses). The student must also take at least three and no more than four Higher Level (HL) courses.
Additionally, a student who wants to earn the Diploma of the International Baccalaureate must complete:
Theory of Knowledge: a course which explores the nature of knowledge; it asks questions like “How do we know something is real / true?” and “How do our standards for truth differ from discipline to discipline?” In order to complete this course, students must write a 1,200-1,600 word essay to be graded externally and make an in-class presentation. Additional coursework will be assigned by the teacher.
Extended Essay: a work of original research on a specific topic of personal interest to the student. The student must write this 4,000-word essay and submit it for external grading.
Creativity-Activity- Service: a series of projects that take a student’s learning outside the classroom and into the community; students must make a sustained effort over a period of 18 months to engage their creative talents, engage in physical activity, conduct a service learning project, and reflect upon the growth that they achieve.
Option #2: Partial Program Student
This option provides students who decide not to pursue the full IB diploma (Option #1) with the ability to engage with the IB at WKHS learning community in a substantial way. The WKHS IB staff believes engaging with IB coursework and the IB Core (Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay, and Creativity, Activity, Service) is valuable to all students willing to undertake the challenge.
Partial program students enroll in at least two IB subject courses. At least one of these courses must be a two-year course. Partial program students must also enroll in Theory of Knowledge and complete either the Extended Essay or Creativity, Activity, Service.
Students completing the partial program option will not be eligible to earn the IB diploma. However, like all IB students, they may register for IB exams and potentially earn college credit for their work.
Option #3: IB COURSE STUDENTS
Students who meet the prerequisites may register for individual IB courses. These students may not register for the IB Core components (Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay, and Creativity, Activity, Service). However, course students may register for IB exams and potentially earn college credit for their work. This is the best option for students who are not prepared to make a substantial commitment to IB but who still want to challenge themselves with IB coursework.
Please note that the cost to register for one IB exam is about $291. Students may take IB courses without registering for IB exams, but such students must still complete all IB coursework, including internal assessments, papers written in class for external assessment, and practice/mock exams.
Admissions Policy
To be admitted as an IB Diploma Programme Student or Student, a student . . .
1. Must have an cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above after three semesters
2. Class of 2018 and beyond: Earn a cumulative passing score of 18 points on seven end-of-course state tests.
3. Must have earned a passing grade for both semesters of CCSS ELA I or Honors CCSS ELA I and the first semester of Honors CCSS ELA II or CCSS ELA III.
4. Must have earned a passing grade for both semesters of a Level 2 course (standard or Honors) in French or Spanish or the Level 1 course in Latin and for the first semester of a Level 3 course (standard or Honors) in French or Spanish or the Level 2 course in Latin
5. Must have earned passing grades in both semesters of Modern World History and the first semester of U. S. History or AP U. S. History
6. Must have earned passing grades in both semesters of Physical Science (standard or Honors) and the first semester of Biology (standard or Honors)