--- title: "IBDP versus WACE" site: "Scotch Global Thrive" url: "https://global.scotch.wa.edu.au/thrive/news/wace-ibdp" description: "Scotch College Perth has now offered the globally recognised educational qualification International Baccalaureate (IB) for over ten years and coming soon through Scotch Global, students of all genders will have access to study the IBDP." published: "2023-07-04" updated: "2023-10-09" --- # IBDP versus WACE Scotch College Perth has now offered the globally recognised educational qualification International Baccalaureate (IB) for over ten years and coming soon through Scotch Global, students of all genders will have access to study the IBDP. Path: News › IBDP versus WACE ## Understanding the IB Diploma Programme What are the differences between IBDP with WACE? Scotch College Perth has now offered the globally recognised educational qualification International Baccalaureate (IB) for over ten years and now through Scotch Global, students of all genders will have access to study the IBDP online. Before your child’s final years of high school, you might be asking what system of education will suit them best and ultimately, what will provide the greatest opportunities for them moving beyond high school. To answer this, understanding the difference between WACE, the state based system, and the IBDP will put you in a better position to evaluate this. The IB Diploma Programme (DP) is still relatively new to Western Australia with just five schools offering the choice in Year 11 and 12. The IB Diploma itself has been running since 1968, with more than 1.7 million students studying the Diploma since its inception. Last year, approximately 190,000 candidates worldwide sat their IB Diploma examinations at over 7,500 schools spread across 150+ countries, with over 2,300 of those schools in the Asia-Pacific region. That total reflects a more than five-fold increase in the number of students undertaking the Diploma since 2000. It is important to recognise that the IBDP is an education qualification separate from WACE. If a student chooses this programme, they no longer need to meet the WACE requirements as the DP has its own standards the students will work towards. Graduating from this programme will guarantee you entry into several universities as the programme is specifically designed to prepare students for a tertiary pathway. Similarly, WACE Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) courses also prepare students for university, however, it is possible to graduate from this programme without qualifying for university. A key point of difference is curriculum structure. WACE students make up their programme with six courses in Year 11 and may drop to five courses in Year 12. They can choose any subject combination they want, so long as they take one course from English, Humanities, or the Arts (List A) and one course from Science, Mathematics or Design and Technology (List B). The only compulsory course is English. If a student wants an ATAR score required to apply for university, they must take at least four courses that are considered university preparation courses (ATAR course). This offers students the ability to mix and match, creating a breadth of study that is as broad or as narrow as they like. They can also combine the harder ATAR courses with general courses to balance their load. Additionally, certificate courses created by TAFE can also contribute to WACE graduation or, if a Certificate IV is completed, the student can use this to enter university. In the DP, the student must select one course from six different groups: English, Humanities, Mathematics, Foreign Languages, Arts, and Science. The only adjustment that can be made to this rule is that a student may choose two subjects from Humanities or Science to replace an Arts subject. This is permitted to allow some students to meet prerequisites for university. Once a student has selected six courses to study, they must then choose three to be studied at a Standard Level (SL) and three at a Higher Level (HL). Both levels are considered university preparation courses, however, a HL course takes 240 instructional hours to complete over two years while the SL course only takes 150 hours. The SL course gives them time away from the classroom that helps to complete the other components of the programme. This includes; a subject on the theory of knowledge (TOK) and a written 4000-word extended essay on a research topic of their choice. Finally, they must participate in creativity, activity and service learning (CAS), similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Another significant point of difference is the way the final scores for students are calculated. WACE results in Year 11 do not count towards the ATAR score. The final score is made up of 50% Year 12 school assessment and 50% external exam, where the exam only assesses Year 12 content. The school score is moderated against the external exam to ensure equity between schools and the subject score is then scaled to handle the variation in difficulty between courses. Finally, the sum of the top four ATAR subjects for each student is used to rank all students across the state. This makes it hard for schools to accurately predict final ATARs. Some subjects receive harsh scaling and others, favourable, although this varies from one year to the next. The IBDP results are mainly based on the final examination which includes Year 11 and 12 content, except in the Arts where there is often no examination. This means that over the two years, the student’s results are just indicative of how they are progressing, allowing students to improve their performance, unimpeded. The school score is usually around 20% for most subjects and includes project-based assessment, rather than traditional tests. The content is assessed in the final examination and then sent off for external marking. Each subject results in a grade out of 7, giving a maximum of 42, with up to 3 bonus points for the additional programme requirements, making the final score out of 45. This means there are 2,000 possible scores an ATAR student can receive, but only 45 degrees of separation for a DP student. In theory, every student could receive the maximum point score, unlike ATAR where students are ranked. The IB is marked against pre-determined criteria and every subject carries the same worth; there are no high or low-scaling subjects. With these being the significant points of difference in curriculum structure and assessment, are there any differences in the pedagogy? At Scotch College, the IBDP is offered because the diploma's strong focus on critical and creative thinking, as well as conceptual understanding, is valued over content recall. These skills have growing relevance in the workplace, and research has indicated IBDP students are very well-prepared for university. The IB Diploma is deliberately broad, whereas the WACE can be broad or narrow, and offers the chance to refine subject selection by dropping a subject that is not enjoyed as much. WACE also offers better preparation for vocational pathways with a very flexible approach to achieving graduation. Scotch Global proudly recognises the differences in students’ learning styles which is why we aim to offer multiple pathways to encourage engagement and a lifelong love for learning. Increasingly universities are offering alternative entry pathways, also recognising that long term success in education does not need to be defined by a ranking or a final score. Cara Fugill, Head of Scotch Global ## Topics - Thrive --- Canonical HTML version: https://global.scotch.wa.edu.au/thrive/news/wace-ibdp