Thailand: IB Diploma Results for 2020!
Exams were cancelled and schools were closed but the IB results for the 2019-20 academic year are published as normal. More than 1,000 students from international schools across Thailand received their International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and Career-related Programme (IBCP) today. The results show that students continue to surpass the global average with an average score of 32.97.
Although this year’s students did not sit the IB exams, they still receive a grade for each of their registered subjects based on teachers’ recommendations that take into account their coursework marks and their predicted grade.
A total of 174,355 students worldwide took the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) or Career-related Programme (CP) this year. The number of students receiving their results in Thailand this year is 1,019, marking a very small decrease on last year’s cohort.
The 2020 cohort achieved a global average score of 29.90 points in the IBDP, staying consistent with the past three years’ scores ranging from 29.62 to 29.95. This year, the Thailand average DP score of 32.97 surpassed the global average of 29.90, with a pass rate of 91.76%.%. This is just marginally higher than last year’s Thailand average of 32.64 points.
The two-year IBDP programme is currently offered at 21 international schools in Thailand, including five that are full IB schools. These include: Ascot International School, Bangkok Patana School, British International School, Phuket, Concordian International School, Garden International School, International School Bangkok, International School Eastern Seaboard, KIS International School, NIST International School, Pan-Asia International School, Prem Tinsulanonda International School, Regents International School Pattaya, Ruamrudee International School, St Andrews International School, Bangkok, St. Andrews International School, Green Valley, St. Andrews International School, Sukhumvit 107, Regent's International School, UWC Thailand International School, and Wells International School.
Just one school, Prem Tinsulanonda International School, offers the IBCP.
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Please refer back to this feature for a complete round-up of results as they come in.
Regents International School Pattaya
• Average score: 32
• Pass rate: 98%
• No. students achieved the bilingual diploma: 9
Regents International School Pattaya graduated with an average score of 32, which is slightly higher than last year's average score of 31. Regents students achieved a pass rate of 98%, and nine students earned the bilingual diploma studying in Korean, Thai, Chinese, German and Russian.
Principal Sarah Osborne-James said: “We are very proud of our graduates and their achievements, especially in a year as challenging as this one. Once again, we are above the world average, a remarkable result for a non-selective school. The results mean that our students will be able to go to their first-choice university.
"Our students have been accepted to top universities on four continents around the world including University College London, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Edinburgh, Mahidol, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Queensland, and McGill University to study wide-ranging disciplines from the arts to business to medicine and engineering. In fact 25% of our cohort will be attending a top 50 university!"
Garden International School Eastern Seaboard
• Average score: 36
• Pass rate: 100%
• Top score: 43
At Garden International School Eastern Seaboard students scored an average of 35, higher than last year's score of 31, and there was a 100% pass rate. The highest score was 42 from Ashcharya Kela.
NIST International School
KIS International School
• Average score: 34
• Pass rate: 94%
• Highest score: 45
Students at KIS International School celebrated an average score of 34, one point higher than last year.
The school said: "KIS is also very happy and proud to see the continued success of our refugee scholarship program with four refugee students to date graduating with full IB Diplomas, higher than average scores and with excellent offers from universities, frequently with scholarships.
"Most of all we are proud of the students for becoming responsible, compassionate international-minded and globally aware people who will go on to inspire others around them."
St Andrews International School, Green Valley
• Average score: 33.56
• Pass rate: 100%
• Highest score: 39
At St Andrews International School, Green Valley, students achieved an average score of 33.56, more than 3.5 points higher than the world average. The top point score was 39, and there was a 100% pass rate for the ninth consecutive year. Students have been accepted at universities across the world, including Staffordshire University, National University of Singapore, Seoul National University and the University of Amsterdam.
Head of secondary Kevin McGee said:
"We are exceptionally proud of the outstanding results achieved by our Graduating Class of 2020. Their results, which surpass world averages in multiple areas, are an achievement that very few schools in the world can match. They have worked exceptionally hard throughout the year and deserve these results, as do their hand-working and talented teachers. Congratulations again to them all!"
British International School, Phuket
• Average score: 35
• Pass rate: 98%
• Highest score: 45
• No. students achieved the bilingual diploma: 33%
At British International School, Phuket, the class of 2020 delivered some strong IB results. The graduating class outperformed the global average of 29.9 points with an average of 35 points, and 80% of the cohort scored above the world average. BISP's mean grade was 5.54, the pass rate was 98%, and the top score of 45 was achieved by one scholarship student.
33% of students took and passed the bilingual diploma.
The school said:
"These are impressive achievements for a non-selective academic school and BISP continues on its path to helping students prepare for universities around the world in a wide range of courses.
"Courses to be studied by our 2020 graduates include: Medicine, law, business and economics, engineering, astrophysics, sports, anthropology, marketing and communications, food science, chemistry, environmental science, hospitality, computer science and political science/international relations."
The 2020 IB Cohort
With the closure of schools around the world and the cancellation of exams, this year’s IB students completed the two-year Diploma Programme in far from normal circumstances. There has been a huge question mark over whether this year’s cohort would get a ‘fair deal’ – but results so far suggest that students in Thailand have performed above the global average.
Paula Wilcock, chief assessment officer for the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) said:
“No one was prepared for what was going to change the world and the difficult decision to cancel the May 2020 examinations was unprecedented, but it was a decision made based on the safety and wellbeing of our students. This is a landmark year. Not only have students been dealing with the pressures of their final year of study for the DP or CP before they take their next step into their future, but they have been forced to adapt to a totally different world at the same time.
“I would encourage students to reflect on their experiences as an IB learner and to remember to look at the full extent of their progress. Where they started in DP 1 or CP 1 is a vastly different place to where they find themselves now and everything they have achieved in those two years represents hundreds of hours of grit, determination, growth and achievement.
“They are graduating into a global community of learners that they will belong to forever and the journey they have all undertaken together is not solely defined by the results. The skills they have developed through their IB journey (critical thinking, communication skills etc.), and their capability to embody the IB learner profile, will carry them through into their futures with the ability to tackle the challenges of the future with the ability to think critically, and respond creatively and with much needed compassion.”
