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The international baccalaureate: A program for

gifted secondary students
a

G. Harold Poelzer & John F. Feldhusen

Assistant Professor, Gifted Education, Department of Educational Psychology ,

University of TexasPan American , Edinburg
b

Distinguished Professor of Education, Director of the Purdue Gifted Education

Institute , Purdue University , West Lafayette, Indiana
Published online: 20 Jan 2010.

To cite this article: G. Harold Poelzer & John F. Feldhusen (1997) The international baccalaureate: A program for
gifted secondary students , Roeper Review, 19:3, 168-171, DOI: 10.1080/02783199709553820
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02783199709553820

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Programs
The International Baccalaureate:
A Program for Gifted Secondary Students

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G. Harold Poelzer
John F. Feldhusen
This article suggests the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) as an alternative secondary program for gifted youth. After tracing
the history of the IB Program from its inception in Europe in the early fifties to its establishment in North America, comparing the IB
program to other programs such as the
Advanced Placement program, and outlining
the IB curriculum and requirements, the article
shows how the IB Program appropriately
meets the needs of academically gifted secondary students.

G. Harold Poelzer is Assistant Professor,

Gifted Education, Department of Educational
Psychology, at The University of Texas-Pan
American, Edinburg. John F. Feldhusen is
Distinguished Professor of Education, Director
of the Purdue Gifted Education Institute, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

n a society where one expects to

change careers several times
within one's lifetime and concomitant
family moves across and between
nations makes continuity of schooling a
priority, an educational program that is
recognized internationally becomes
attractive. The International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) program meets not
only the need for schooling continuity
but also the needs of academically gifted
secondary youth. To achieve a better
understanding of the IB program as an
alternative for academically gifted secondary students, the authors trace it's
development, compare it with other programs, and show how the IB curriculum
adheres to the principles of a differentiated curriculum.

Historical Development
The initiators of the International
Baccalaureate Diploma program (IB), a
secondary program developed to meet
the educational needs of a highly mobile
society of multi-nationals throughout
168/Roeper Review, Vol. 19, No. 3

Europe, had three types of students in

mind: the student living abroad, the
native student returning from abroad,
and the native student likely to go
abroad (Renaud 1974). Until the time of
inauguration of the IB program there
had been no single curriculum acceptable to all European nations, and the
problems associated with schools running several curricula simultaneously
(e.g., national schools with international
sections, schools with parallel national
sections) made this type of school operation unacceptable.
In the early fifties, the United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization founded the International Schools' Association (ISA) and
gave it several contracts "to study practical ways of harmonizing curricula and
methods for the development of international understanding" (Renaud, 1974, p.
4). In 1963, ISA received a grant from
the Twentieth Century Fund to develop
a common curriculum and examination
program that would meet the admission
requirements of any university that a
student should choose to attend. In 1965,
the International Schools' Examination
Syndicate was established; it later
became the International Baccalaureate
Office with headquarters in Geneva. An
international board of examiners was
formed with the collaboration of inspectors of education, university professors
and secondary school teachers (Renaud,
1974).
From 1964 to 1969, the IB program
(in its construction phase) administered
trial examinations with no official certificate value. However, in 1970, the
first examinations were held for complete diplomas or certificates albeit the
trial examinations continued. The experimental operation period ended in 1974
(Renaud, 1974).
The IB program grew from 20
schools in 1970 to 350 schools in 53
countries in 1987 (International Baccalaureate North America [IBNA],
1987a). One school that adopted the IB
curriculum was the United Nations
International School (UNIS) in New

York. Fox (1985) noted that the school's

IB enrollment had grown from 20 or so
in 1968 to over 100 out of 140 in 1971;
the director of UNIS attributed this
increase to IB's intellectual challenge
and to it's methods (e.g. the Extended
Essay and the oral examinations).
he United World Colleges
(UWC), a chain of international
schools, also uses the IB program. These
schools grant scholarships to gifted students selected by national committees in
countries throughout the world (Fox,
1985). The two UWC schools located in
North America are Lester B. Pearson
College of the Pacific in British Columbia, Canada, and the United World College of the American West in New Mexico, U.S.A. The United World Colleges
are boarding schools located in relatively remote areas.
Fox (1985) noted that by 1983, 32
schools in Canada and 78 schools in the
United States offered the IB program;
she also noted the 20% annual growth
rate in IB schools in North America at
that time.
What were some of the determining
factors in a school's decision to adopt
the IB program? Referring to a survey
conducted by UNIS, Fox (1985),
answered: " . . . academic excellence, the
challenge inherent in the syllabus, the
appeal to gifted students, the opportunity
to upgrade and enrich the curriculum
schoolwide, international features, and
the integrated structure of the IB program of studies" (p. 64). Upon interviewing two IB school coordinators,
Freeman (1987), found that one school's
enrollment had increased due to foreign
businessmen moving into the area in
order to get an education for their children that would be recognized in their
own country. The other school's adoption of the IB program had upgraded it
to a model school status (delegations
from schools bent on upgrading their
own schools had been arriving to see the
IB program first hand). The Chandler
High School report provided yet another

Manuscript submitted February, 1996.

Revision accepted September, 1996.

rationale for instituting the IB program:

"it provides a set curriculum that has
international status, is high in quality,
and has an externally verifiable set of
standards and evaluations" (Chandler
High School, 1982, p.79).
he number of universities
throughout the world granting
admission, advanced placement, or credit for the full IB Diploma or for particular IB courses provides evidence of IB's
high educational standards. IBNA
(1987b) published a pamphlet that outlined the recognition policies of 80
North American universities. The following examples taken from this pamphlet illustrate these recognition policies:
Harvard-Radcliffe College: "Students at Harvard and Radcliffe are eligible for sophomore standing by completing the full International Baccalaureate
Diploma and obtaining 6 or 7 in their
three Higher level subjects" (p. 8).
Princeton University: "Princeton
recognizes the IB and uses examination
results for advanced placement purposes
only. A score of 6 or 7 on the Higher
level examinations normally results in
advanced placement" (p. 14).
McGill University: "The IB Diploma is considered a credential for admission with scores of 5 or higher in each
subject. Credit may be granted for the
Higher level courses only, with up to 19
credits awarded for each subject" (p.27).
University of Alberta: "The IB
Diploma is recognized for admission,
provided the Diploma courses cover
requirements of the particular program
to which a student is applying. Credit or
advanced placement is given for many
Higher level and some Subsidiary level
subjects" (p. 28).

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Comparison of IB with other

Programs
When Harlan P. Hanson, director of
the Advanced Placement Program (AP)
program and a founder and member of
IBNA, compared the AP (developed by
the College Entrance Examination
Board) with IB with respect to rigor and
acceptance of courses by universities
and colleges, he pointed out that one
difference between AP and IB is reflected in their aims: whereas AP prepares
students for college work in the United
States, IB prepares students for an international range of universities. Also,
though IB is more international than AP
in its treatment of history and language,
both programs offer similar courses in

math and science. Further, a difference

appears in the philosophical approaches:
IB prescribes structure for all, whereas,
AP believes that the school should
decide what the student ought to learn.
Finally, though least significant, IB
costs considerably more than AP in
terms of time and money (Freeman
1987). In 1991 the IB program in Alberta cost the following Canadian dollars:
school affiliation fee $8400; diploma
candidate fee $160; certificate candidate
fee $120; each written examination $49;
oral examination English $20; oral
examination French $20; extended essay
$30. On the other hand, each AP written
examination cost $60; AP did not have
oral examinations.

the Higher Level IB courses: 60 of the

65 universities in the United States that
accept IB courses for either credit, or
advanced placement or both, accept
only Higher Level IB courses; one university accepts courses at the Subsidiary
Level; the remaining universities negotiate on an individual basis. A parallel situation is evident in Canada: 12 of 15
universities accept Higher Level IB
courses, two universities accept Subsidiary Level courses, and one university negotiates on an individual basis
(IBNA, 1987b).

Despite the differences between AP

and IB, they are on the same level with
respect to advanced standing at colleges
in the United States (Chandler High
School, 1982).
The IB program is more well
rounded compared with special schools
such as the North Carolina School of
Science and Mathematics (NCSSM).
Whereas the NCSSM program emphasizes math and science, the IB program
emphasizes no particular subjects. The
quality of the courses in both programs
is high; NCSSM offers courses that
include AP material so that students can,
if they so desire, take the AP examinations (Eilber & Warshaw, 1988).
The IB program contrasts sharply
with programs that emphasize acceleration such as the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY), a program initiated by Julian Stanley at Johns
Hopkins University in the early seventies. SMPY led to talent searches that
identify able learners at the age of 12
who are then given an accelerated program in advanced mathematics. As a
consequence, these able learners can
take freshman college courses at a much
earlier age (Daniel & Cox, 1985; Stanley & Benbow, 1982). The IB approach,
on the other hand, stresses balance in
education between literary and scientific
disciplines to keep all options open for
as long as possible (Renaud, 1974).
Poelzer (1994) compared the syllabi
of the IB and Alberta science programs
and found that the Higher Level IB program contains relatively more content at
more abstract and complex levels than
does the Subsidiary Level IB program.
The same is true of the Subsidiary Level
IB program compared with the regular
Alberta program. The analysis of test
items in the respective courses corroborated this phenomenon. Further, many
universities recognize the high caliber of

The philosophy underlying the IB

curriculum emphasizes the development
of the "whole man". Renaud (1974)
quoted a 1970 brochure: "the main principles of the system can thus be seen to
be flexibility and the impossibility of
early and undue specialization, before a
pupil is of an age genuinely to appreciate
the direction of his ultimate academic
goal... his education will be on the
lines of developing the 'whole man',
who is so often neglected in other school
patterns of study" (p. 13). The curriculum reflects this philosophy by offering
a program that has both breadth and
depth. Bruce (1987) observed that the IB
is eclectic in that it maximizes choice
(American model), offers depth at a level
of university freshmen or sophomores
(British model), and includes major
areas of arts, sciences, and technologies
(French model). The IB Diploma candidates choose one subject from each of
the following categories:
IB Subject Group
Language A (First Language)
(includes the study of world literature.)
Language B(Second Language)
Study of Man in Society
(includes History, Geography,
Economics, Philosophy, Psychology,
and Social Anthropology.)
Experimental Sciences
(includes Chemistry, Biology, Physics,
Physical Science, Experimental
Psychology, and Environmental
Systems.)
Mathematics
(includes Higher Level with Further
Mathematics, Mathematics and
Computing, and Mathematical
Studies.)
Sixth Subject
(includes Art/Design, Music,
Computing Studies, Classical
Languages, or a School-Based syllabus.
May also include another subject
studied from groups 1, 2, 3, or 4.)
(IBNA, 1987a, p. 3).

The IB Curriculum

March, 1997, Roeper Review/169

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he IB Diploma students take

three subjects at the Higher
Level and three at the Subsidiary Level
or, a maximum of four at the Higher
level and two at the Subsidiary Level.
This arrangement allows for depth in
some subjects and breadth in others.
Higher Level examinations follow two
years of study, whereas Subsidiary
Level examinations follow one year. (In
Alberta, examinations at either level follow two years of study.)
The IB Diploma candidates also
take a course called the Theory of
Knowledge. This course focuses on critical thinking; it examines the nature of
evidence and the strength of judgments
based on this evidence in such diverse
fields as mathematics, aesthetics, morals,
and so on (Peterson, 1977). Students are
expected to apply this reflective thought
to areas outside the classroom.
Two further requirements complete
the IB Diploma program: the Extended
Essay and the participation in a creative,
aesthetic, or social service (CASS)
endeavor. The Extended Essay requires
an independent study of a topic within
any subject area that the student chooses, the length of the essay to be approximately 4000 words. The CASS activity
broadens the student's learning experiences; it requires about one-half day per
week for the full school year.
IB schools must offer the full IB
Diploma; however, some students (Certificate students) may register for and
receive IB Certificates in only several
courses of their choice (Freeman, 1987).
Certificate students require neither the
Theory of Knowledge, the Extended
Essay, nor the CASS component.
Regarding time allotment, Peterson
(1983), suggested that Higher level
courses require five classes per week
over a two year period whereas Subsidiary level courses require five classes
per week over one year. (Alberta IB
schools allot Higher Level and Subsidiary Level courses equal time ranging
from 125 to 150 hours of instruction per
year over a two year period.)
Each IB course, except Theory of
Knowledge and CASS, is subjected to
an external examination that determines
80% of the grade; internal teacher examinations make up the remaining 20%.
Grades range from 1 (poor) to 7 (excellent). Depending on the subject, the
examinations include various combinations of oral, written, or practical work
(IBNA, 1987a).
The sciences allot a specified
amount of time to laboratory work.
170/Roeper Review, Vol. 19, No. 3

Teachers assess the laboratory performance of students and send samples of

students' work (below average, average,
and above average) to IB examiners who
monitor the standard of this laboratory
work. Every October, teachers from the
United States and Canada meet with IB
examiners and experienced IB teachers
to learn about course requirements.
The world-wide spread of the IB
program is evidence of its acceptance by
a mobile society that desires continuity
in education at the secondary level and a
rigorous program that permits access to
universities around the globe. But the IB
program has more assets than rigor, its
curriculum is flexible, and varied
enough to meet many of the needs of
gifted secondary students.

Appropriateness for gifted

Public Law 97-35 defines gifted and
talented children as "children who give
evidence of high performance capability
in areas such as intellectual, creative,
artistic, leadership capacity or specific
academic fields and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such capabilities" (Sec. 582).
Through its Diploma or Certificate
programs, the IB offers intellectually
able secondary students the opportunity
to pursue depth in three (or in some
cases four) Higher level subject areas
and to explore breadth in three Subsidiary level courses, and students gifted
in one or two specific academic fields
the opportunity to pursue depth in those
areas.
Poelzer (1994) interviewed eleven
IB science teachers regarding the learning characteristics of students in IB. He
found that albeit these teachers taught in
seven different schools in two cities in
Alberta, their responses were similar:
All teachers' descriptions of the students
in IB were typical of the lists of characteristics of gifted children found in text
books dealing with gifted children and
included high levels of motivation, task
commitment, questing, desire to understand, intelligence, management skills,
and independence. One chemistry
teacher stated that students in IB can
learn in two weeks what students in the
regular curriculum require a month to
learn, and can learn same concepts at a
university level in three weeks. Students
in IB take a considerable amount of
responsibility for their own learning, and
assist each other through small group
and seminar activities.

Thus, the IB program provides the

opportunity for intellectually able students to interact with their intellectual
peers and to experience a relatively
abstract, complex, and fast paced curriculum.
The IB curriculum also meets the
needs of students gifted in areas other
than the typical math, social studies, language arts, and science by providing rigorous curricula in music, computing
studies, classical languages, and art. In
addition, it shows flexibility by accepting a school-based syllabus. These curricula meet needs of students identified
by Public Law 97-35 and by Gardner
(1983) who proposed a model depicting
seven intelligences: Logical-Mathematical, Linguistic, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal. Further, Feldhusen (1992), who
encourages educators to be concerned
with identifying and developing talents,
provided a model for talent development
in secondary schools. This model identifies four domains: Academic-Intellectual, Vocational-Technical, InterpersonalSocial, and Artistic; and lists several
categories representative of each
domain. For example, talents to be
developed within the Artistic Domain
include but are not limited to dance,
music, drama, graphics, sculpture, and
photography.
Anderson's (1994) discussion of the
IB art curriculum clearly shows that this
curriculum adheres to the principles of a
curriculum appropriate for the gifted and
talented advanced by the National/State
Leadership Training Institute on the
Gifted and Talented (cited in Clark,
1994):
Present content that is related to
broad-based issues, themes or problems.
Integrate multiple disciplines into the
area of study.
Present comprehensive, related and
mutually reinforcing experiences within an area of study.
Allow for in-depth learning of a selfselected topic within the area of study.
Develop independent or self-directed
study skills.
Develop productive, complex, abstract
and/or higher level thinking skills.
Focus on open-ended tasks.
Develop research skills and methods.
Integrate basic skills and higher level
thinking skills into the curriculum.
Encourage the development of products that challenge existing ideas and
produce "new" ideas.
Encourage the development of self-

understanding, i.e., recognizing and

using one's abilities, becoming selfdirected, appreciating likenesses and
differences between one-self and
others.
Evaluate student out comes by using
appropriate and specific criteria
through self-appraisal, criterion referenced and/or standardized instruments, (p. 258)
nderson (1994), who is an IB
examiner, points out that the
criteria for achievement in studio work
is weighted 65% for independent, creative, and critical thinking including student self-evaluation ability. The remaining 35% pertains to design, technical
skill, and media use. And the criteria for
achievement in research notebooks
reflects 75% for independent, creative,
and critical thinking, while 25% on historical, cultural, and social contexts
(which indirectly inform and direct critical thinking). In their research work, the
students in IB focus on theme-based
problems that they generate themselves.
They develop and examine theme-based
problems that are significant to themselves and to the social or cultural context. Anderson provided several examples of student research. One example
described how a student researched PreColumbian petroglyphs in the Rio Loa
Valley in Chile by first recording her
personal experiences with the petroglyphs, environment, and culture in that
area; and then critically analyzing and
evaluating the petroglyphs using historical and anthropological references. This
procedure was followed by experimenting with spray painting hand prints in
the manner of primitive artists and
inventing personal hieroglyphs and
symbols. The student later attended art
shows, talked to artists whose interests
were similar to hers, and recorded pictures of their work as well as what they
told her. Her interests began to include
contemporary environmental art and
artists and she examined archetypal art
forms such as the spiral. She developed
her own spiral imagery, first, through
emulating others' work, then, through
generating her own ideas. She continued
to explore.

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Another student combined comic

books, mechanical drawing, and world
affairs into a new product: two comic
books. One comic book involved future
political upheaval in South America and
the political reorganization of both
North and South America. After
researching comic books (including
those from other cultures), auto maga-

zines, and computer journals, the student invented his own motor vehicles
and characters. He used his friends as
models. The student also incorporated
computer images and designed computer environments for his characters. He
sought interaction and discussion at
trade fairs, computer stores and the like.
The final example showed how a
student explored computer graphic arts.
The student traced computer graphics
back to its roots, discovered Escher,
began connecting art and mathematics;
then, using Escher as a model, created
computer graphics of animal subjects.
Later, he researched computer-generated art by visiting art galleries that display this type of art and by talking to
the artists. He obtained new ideas for
computer-generated art from researching computer generated imagery used,
for example, in the Indiana Jones
adventures. His research regarding the
use of computer imagery with x-rays
and with oil spills, led the student to
further explore computer programming
and commercial designing. His goal
was to become the world's greatest
computer-artist.
Although these examples deal with
the IB art curriculum, opportunities for
individual enrichment are also available in other subject areas through the
Extended Essay or subject projects.
Choudhury (1994) who attended an IB
school in Washington, D.C. commented on how the Extended Essay, in
which she compared three Indian
authors, broadened her knowledge of
literature. In her math project, she combined math content with her interest in
psychology by conducting a study on
attitudes that employed a statistical
analysis of the data.
One sees from these examples how
the IB Art curriculum engages the principles of a differentiated curriculum.
The criteria for achievement are based
on independent higher level thinking
skills and self-evaluation. The research
involves theme-based problems within a
social or cultural context, integration of
multiple disciplines, mutually reinforcing experiences, in-depth learning, production of "new" ideas, and the development of self-understanding.
In conclusion, secondary schools
searching for a viable program to meet
needs of gifted and talented students
might well consider the advantages of
the IB Program: The complex, abstract,
and fast paced curricula; the external
(world class) examinations; the Creative, Aesthetic, or Social Services com-

ponent; the Theory of Knowledge component; the Extended Essay component;

the Diploma or Certificate options; the
relative flexibility regarding selection of
curricular materials; the emphasis on
international understanding and harmony; and the meeting of the admission
requirements of many universities
throughout the world makes the IB Program one worthy of consideration.
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