History of IB

The idea of an International Baccalaureate, that is, of an international university entrance examination that could be taken in any country and recognized in any country, grew out of both practical and educational concerns in the international school setting. School authorities found that the necessity of preparing their sixteen to eighteen year old university-bound pupils for separate national examinations required either a large number of very small classes, or one large class segregated according to national groups. Teachers were also concerned with the increasing emphasis on education as the delivery of information, the fragmentation of knowledge, and the de-emphasis on aesthetic and creative education.

As early as 1962, the International Schools Association instructed its executive to "explore the possibilities of a joint social studies examination, as a first step toward the establishment of a basic standard." In 1963, a grant from the Twentieth Century Fund made it possible for the International Schools Association to set up an ad hoc group of international educators to investigate the possibility of an international examination. Their studies and discussions and the programs that resulted also received substantial support from the Ford Foundation. In 1965 the International Baccalaureate Office was established in Geneva as a foundation under Swiss law. An International Council of Foundation was formed and an experimental project was launched in 1967 and offered for use in twenty schools in 1970.

Since that time, the IB has grown at a rate of approximately 10% per year. To the Diploma Program was added the Middle Years curriculum framework (MYP) in 1994 and the Primary Years Program (PYP) in 1997. In early 2004 there were more than 1350 schools worldwide authorized to offer one or other of the IBO's programs. Working in three official languages, English, French, and Spanish, the IB enjoys the respect and support of many governments, colleges and universities.

Significant numbers of IB Diploma holders both from within and outside North America have gained admission to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Stanford, McGill, Toronto, MIT, Michigan, Bryn Mawr and other prominent institutions. Students are often accorded advanced standing and college credit based on their IB work.