IB MATHEMATICS COMPARABILITY STUDY

1 IB MATHEMATICS COMPARABILITY STUDY : CURRICULUM & ASSESSMENT COMPARISON Adriana Alc ntara, International Education Consultant REPORT FOR IB GLOBAL RECOGNITION, September 2015 UK NARIC The National Recognition Information Centre, United Kingdom Prepared by: Liz Bergeron, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse The summary is based on full reports by Adriana Alc ntara and UK NARIC. 1 Introduction Purpose and Scope of the IB MATHEMATICS COMPARABILITY STUDY This report summarizes two independently written reports created as a part of the IB MATHEMATICS COMPARABILITY STUDY .

2 The purpose of the IB MATHEMATICS COMPARABILITY STUDY is to review and compare a selection of well-established MATHEMATICS qualifications offered in a range of high- performing education systems around the world whose primary function is to prepare senior secondary students for higher education .1 In this STUDY , IB s four diploma Program MATHEMATICS courses Mathematical Studies SL, MATHEMATICS SL, MATHEMATICS HL and Further MATHEMATICS HL are compared with five MATHEMATICS qualifications chosen on the basis of their market share, the extent of their university recognition, geographical spread and their performance on PISA tests (where relevant):2 1) Alberta diploma (Canada): Alberta Math 30-1, Alberta Math 30-2, Alberta 31 2) Advanced Placement (AP) (US and Canada, growing overseas market).

3 AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC 3) GCE A Levels (England and overseas market): A Level MATHEMATICS and A Level Further MATHEMATICS 4) Singapore-Cambridge GCE A Levels (SIPCAL) (Singapore): Singapore H1 Math, Singapore H2 Math, Singapore Math H3 5) G ok o (China): G ok o This STUDY is composed of two distinct components: the Curriculum Comparison, which involves a compilation, analysis and comparison of the attributes of these qualifications, and the Assessment Comparison, which involves a comparative analysis of the assessment objectives, assessment methods, and marking guidelines.

4 Dr. Adriana Alc ntara performed the curriculum analysis and the National Recognition Information Centre in the United Kingdom (UK NARIC) conducted the assessment comparison. It is important to note the term curriculum is used when referring to the content of the qualifications analyzed. Often studies of this nature use the term standards . Standards are generally considered the benchmark for judging student progress. Standards outline what students are expected to know at each level. Curriculum is generally understood to be more comprehensive.

5 Curriculum usually refers to the collection of teaching materials used to facilitate student learning so that each student can reach or exceed the standards. Theoretical framework This work extends on two previous alignment projects involving the IB DP. In 2014 Dr. Faas explored the extent the IB DP aligns with national standards in selected regions in Germany and Switzerland3. Additionally, Dr. Conley performed an alignment STUDY between the IB DP and the Knowledge and Skills for University Success (KSUS). Faas research compares the DP written curriculum to selected German and Swiss regional curriculums with regard to content, cognitive demand and philosophical underpinnings.

6 The findings suggest that while there is a high level of content alignment between the DP and Swiss and the DP and German curriculums in the natural sciences (biology and MATHEMATICS ), there is less alignment in the social sciences 1 IB MATHEMATICS COMPARABILITY STUDY Project Plan, 29/01/2015. 2 The focus of this STUDY is on the qualifications themselves, not on the national or state systems that sustain them (in the relevant cases). 3 Faas, D, & Friesenhahn, I. (2014a). Curriculum Alignment between the IB DP and national systems: Germany.

7 Bethesda, MD, USA. International Baccalaureate Organization; Faas, D, & Friesenhahn, I. (2014b). Curriculum Alignment between the IB DP and national systems: Switzerland. Bethesda, MD, USA. International Baccalaureate Organization. 2 and humanities (history and Spanish). The DP also appears to offer greater flexibility than the Swiss and German curriculums, allowing students to pursue their academic interests. In 2009 Conley and Ward4 analyzed the alignment of the IB DP standards and the Knowledge and Skills for University Success (KSUS) and found IB standards to be highly aligned with the KSUS standards.

8 The STUDY also confirmed complete alignment between the IB diploma s mathematical studies and the KSUS algebra, trigonometry and statistics standards. Methodology There are numerous methodologies for investigating curriculum comparisons5. Researchers often rely on methods like the Webb Model6 or the Achieve Model7 which convene a panel of judges to score intended curriculum using qualitative and quantitative indicators. This can be difficult to apply to the international comparisons required by this STUDY because consistent information is not available for all the courses examined in this research.

9 It is difficult to gather exactly the same categories of data, in the same degree of detail, from a wide range of international educational qualifications, due to language barriers, different rules about the public accessibility and confidentiality of data, or simply different approaches to laying out curricular requirements. Therefore, it is not feasible to establish the uniform scoring categories required by the Webb Model or Achieve Model. To encourage an objective analysis two independent researchers were commissioned to carry out the curriculum and assessment comparisons.

10 Similar to the Webb Model and the Achieve Model, both researchers utilized the intended curriculum in their analyses. The curriculum comparison was performed by Dr. Adriana Alc ntara. Data was gathered mainly from primary sources, consisting of the most recent guidance documents and course specifications or guides provided by the administering authorities of each qualification (available on their official websites). Secondary sources were also used to enrich the data, namely existing international studies that have compared various MATHEMATICS qualifications.