To: From: All Juniors and Seniors Enrolled in IB Courses David Quinn, IB Coordinator September, 2017 First, congratulations on your success in the IB program! All IB students need to begin thinking about the IB exams they intend to take next spring. Juniors may take one or two IB Standard Level exams as anticipated diploma candidates after consulting with their instructors; all IB Seniors sit for IB exams. First rule: Second rule: As per your course syllabus, you are REQUIRED to share this information packet with your parents. Juniors can only take SL exams. Seniors can take SL or HL exams (depending on the length of the course) All IB classes end with a formal IB examination, and EWHS requires that students take the official IB Exam or a teacher-secured IB exam at the culmination of the course. All students will complete the official registration form (online) and their Managebac exam profile (online) before October 13th. Students must begin making payments to their test fee account by Friday, November 10th (unless other arrangements have been approved). Included in this packet: IB exams and college crediting Instructions on the Registration Process Fee Structure Exam Eligibility Sheet Why do you take IB exams? For full-ib candidates, they are required by the IBO for you to get your IB Diploma. If you aren t full-ib, you are taking the exams for college credit, advanced placement in your college courses or major, and because the credit you get from an IB exam is MUCH MUCH cheaper than the credit you will PAY for when you get to college next year! Each college and university decides how much credit and/or advanced standing is given for students who earn an IB diploma or IB exam certificates. Over 1,600 universities and colleges in the US give credit for IB exams, and EWHS students can save a great deal of money through a successful performance on IB exams. Students should consult college catalogues in the Career Center or go online to specific university websites to find out about college policies; just type IB credit into any college search window and you will see how much IB credit you can get. In the past, students have also received additional credit and/or advanced placement by petitioning departments within the college. While the IB exams may appear expensive at first glance, please consider the following idea: When you get to college, you could end up purchasing college credits at a substantially higher price than you will pay for an IB exam. Tuition is expensive, and you will be investing a large sum of money to pay college tuition. Getting a useful score on an IB exam is like locking in the cost of freshman tuition because you are getting college credit at a lower cost! Some colleges and universities require a Level 5 exam score to achieve college credit, but many other schools (such as WWU) will accept a Level 4 score. If you do well on your IB exams, you could start college at several schools in WA state with enough university credits to be a sophomore on your first day!
Still not sure? Check out the chart. We used a variety of schools and exams to illustrate the savings that last year s students received when they got to college. Since one IB exam cost $295 last year, it s easy to see how well the math could work in your favor! The more IB exams you take and the better you do the more you save! For UW and WSU, we illustrated the savings for only 3 exams! At U of Oregon, we only showed the savings for taking the exam for one course (IB History of the Americas); at WWU and Whitman, we showed the maximum amount of IB crediting they allow (a whole year of credit!). School IB Score Credit Given (in each example) UW 5+ 15 credits (3 courses) WSU 4+ 15 credits (3 courses) Cost $ 6,064. (One semester; Living/eating at home) $ 7,618. (for 10-18 credits; Living/eating at WSU) Cost of IB Credits Total Savings (3 exams) $ 5,519. (3 exams) $ 7,073. U of Oregon 5+ 12 credits (Just for IB History of the Americas) $15,008. (one semester; living/eating at UO) $ 295. (1 exam) $14,713. Western 4+ 45 credits (45 credit is the max) Whitman 5+ 1 year (30 semester hours) $ 23,236. (1 year at WWU) $ 63,704. (1 year tuition) (4 exams) $22,691. $ 670. (4 exams) $63,034. It s kind of amazing, isn t it? It would be awesome to say to your parents I saved you over $60,000 by doing well on 4 IB exams! or I started at Western with half of my freshman year done already! Are you planning on staying close to home? ALL of Washington State s colleges and universities recognize IB exams. The University of Washington now gives credit for IB exams in 32 different subject areas and they give special credit for the full-ib diploma. Here s a quote directly from their site: Students who earn an IB diploma may be awarded up to 45 quarter credits for a combination of subject grades and 15 general education credits distributed equally among the three Areas of Knowledge. Planning on going out-of-state? Just consult your college s website and you ll be (happily) surprised by the number of IB credits you can get. Don t believe me? Google UW IB credit or Western Washington University IB credit and see for yourself. IB is now so popular that almost every college and university in America has their own webpage to explain exactly how IB exams get students university credit or special course placement. Many universities completely waive the freshman year with a successful performance on IB exams. Students who take 2-3 IB exams find that they have advanced placement and can skip freshman writing requirements so you actually take the college classes you WANT to take, not the classes they want to make you take! Finally, many universities give more scholarships or tuition breaks for full-ib diploma students with specific scores.
EXAM REGISTRATION PROCESS STEP BY STEP I. Students should consult with their instructor for the recommended IB exam level for their course, then speak to their parents about exam enrollment and payment terms. II. SEPTEMBER 15 to OCTOBER 13th is your deep thinking time the time when you must make a decision about which exams you plan to take in May. If you are a full-ib Diploma candidate, you must register for a total of 6 exams (one in each area; 3 HL and 3 SL) by your Senior year in order to qualify for an IB Diploma. Remember: HL exams only happen in the Senior Year. If you are a Junior, you may only take 2 SL exams in your first year of the program. All students should use the eligibility sheet for planning purposes. III. BY OCTOBER 13th: As per the language in every IB course syllabus, students are required to discuss exams, costs, and payment with their families, prior to registration. This is nonnegotiable. You may NOT register for IB exams without obtaining your parent s signature on the syllabus. Then, students will visit our Managebac exam registration system and then fill out the google form below. Both steps are really easy, and students can register from home or while they are on campus. Here is the registration form address (it is case-sensitive): https://goo.gl/3av4et IV. AFTER OCTOBER 13th: Mr. Quinn will visit IB classes and have students sign off on their final IB exam confirmation form. This is the final chance to make sure that all of the registration information is correct! Mr. Quinn will provide a final IB exam invoice by November 1st. V. BY NOVEMBER 10th: We request that students make at least one exam payment for any amount at all by November 10th. Making a payment by November 10 lets EWHS know that we are all on the same page about the exam invoice. Families can pay by credit card using the online system or make checks payable to the Edmonds School District and note IB Exams on the memo line of the check. Bring the invoice and the check to Cindy Scott (in the EWHS Main Office). If you cannot pay right away or if you qualify for Free/Reduced Lunch - just pop into Mr. Quinn s office and let him know. It s really that easy. VI. VII. VIII. PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 15th: If you require exam testing accommodations of any kind (including extra time), YOU must contact Mr. Quinn prior to November 15th. You will be required to present medical evidence that will be shared with the IBO. Do not delay. PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 15th: Mr. Quinn can change IB exam registration changes until 9AM on November 15th. After that time, registrations are officially recorded by the IBO and students and families are obligated to pay for the expense of the exam, even if students later drop the class or later choose not to take the exam, as the district pays for the exams at that time. There will be no refunds from the IBO or from the Edmonds School District. Be sure to carefully proofread all IBO registration documents and invoices. While it is possible to add exams or make corrections to your exam registration after November 15th, the IBO will charge you a substantial late fee. These are IBO fees; I can t alter them because you made a proofreading mistake. That s why we are so very careful about all of the steps!
IB EXAM REGISTRATION / FEE SCHEDULE FOR MAY 2018 EXAMS Exam registration begins in October; the fee schedule and late fees are set by IBO. Please make a payment to your IB exam fees by November 11th or I will keep mailing you invoice notices and you will end up on the EW fine list. For free-and-reduced lunch discounts, financial aid, or extra timepayments, please contact Mr. Quinn as soon as possible as these arrangements must be made before the November 15th final registration date (as WA state forms must to be filled out in advance). Anticipated Candidates: Juniors who are working towards a full-ib diploma may take up to two standard level (SL) exams during their junior year. You are not charged the registration fee next year if you remain a full diploma candidate. Total Fee (one exam): $ 300. Total Fee (two exams): $ 425. Course Candidates: Juniors/Seniors who are not full-ib diploma candidates (even those who completed prior IB exams). Total Fee (one exam): $ 300. Total Fee (two exams): $ 425. Total Fee (three exams): $ 550. Total Fee (four exams): $ 675. Total Fee (five exams): $ 800. Full-IB Diploma Candidates: (Full-IB Seniors with no prior exams): Exam Fee (includes postage): $ 750. (6 exams) Diploma Recognition Fee: $ 35. (includes EWHS IB Stole) Total fee for an IB-full diploma student with no exams last year: $960. Full-IB Diploma Candidates: (Full-IB Seniors who took one or two IB exams last May): Registration Fee: No Registration Fee Diploma Recognition Fee: $ 35. (includes EWHS IB Graduation Stole) Total Fee (four exams): $ 535. Total Fee (five exams): $ 660. Exam fees come from the IBO exam fee table and reflect IBO terminology. EWHS is responsible for the payment of these fees on November 15th. IB exams are very costly to correct as each exam is individually moderated by at least one reader. The expense for exam booklets, forms and IBO examiners is reflected in the fees. EWHS has established a small Postage/EW Fee (built into our registration and exam fees) as each subject has separate mailings to scanning centers, all of which must be sent by overnight courier. The remainder in the account is used to support the purchase of assessment materials and released exams for students, and additional assessment materials and training for instructors.
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE TO TAKE AN IB EXAM? IB EXAM EWHS COURSES REQUIRED English A Language & Literature (HL) IB English Language & Literature 11 and 12 Chinese Ab Initio Chinese 3 French Ab Initio French 2 Spanish A Initio Spanish 2 Spanish B (SL) IB Spanish 3 Spanish B (HL) IB Spanish 4+ French B (SL) IB French 3 French B (HL) IB French 4+ Mandarin Chinese (SL) IB Chinese 3+ Mandarin Chinese (HL) IB Chinese 4+ History (HL) Global Politics (SL) Business & Management (SL) Business & Management (HL) IB History of the Americas (four semester) IB Global Politics IB Business & Management SL IB Business & Management HL Biology (HL) Chemistry (SL) Chemistry (HL) Marine Science (SL) Physics (SL) IB Biology (4 semesters) IB Chemistry (4 semesters) IB Chemistry (4 semesters) IB Marine Science IB Physics & IB Advanced Physics Math Studies (SL) Mathematics (SL) Mathematics (HL) IB Math Studies IB Math SL IB Math HL Art History (SL) IB Art History Music (SL) Music (HL) IB Music IB Music (4 semesters) Psychology (SL) Psychology (HL) IB Psychology IB Psychology (4 semesters) Visual Arts (SL) IB Visual Arts