IB Tutoring Academy
Online IB tutoring

IB Glossary of Terms

A plain-English guide to the abbreviations and phrases you will meet in the IB.

Read the FAQs

Levels and programmes

1

HL means Higher Level and SL means Standard Level. DP is the Diploma Programme, MYP the Middle Years Programme and CP the Career-related Programme.

  • HL: Higher Level
  • SL: Standard Level
  • DP: Diploma Programme
  • MYP: Middle Years Programme
  • CP: Career-related Programme

The core

TOK is Theory of Knowledge. EE is the Extended Essay, an independent research paper of up to 4,000 words. CAS stands for Creativity, Activity, Service.

Assessment terms

  1. IA is internal assessment, work marked by your teacher and moderated by the IB. A predicted grade is your teacher's estimate of your final grade. A grade boundary is the mark needed for a grade in a given session.
  2. A mark scheme shows how marks are awarded for an exam question, and criteria describe levels of achievement for coursework.

Mathematics course names

AA means Analysis and Approaches and AI means Applications and Interpretation. Both are available at HL and SL and are assessed by exams and an internal exploration.

Frequently asked questions

What does HL mean in the IB?

HL means Higher Level. Higher Level courses go into more depth than Standard Level (SL) courses.

What does IA stand for?

IA stands for internal assessment, coursework marked by your teacher and moderated by the IB.

What are TOK, EE and CAS?

They are the three parts of the Diploma core: Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service.

Start your IB tutoring plan

Share your subjects and goals through the consultation form and our team will be in touch about the next steps.