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 Vietnam this year is 551.
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 Vietnam average DP score of 33.16 surpassed the global average of 29.90, with a pass rate of 91.6%.
Read more: IB Results: What to Do if You Don’t Get The Points?
The two-year IBDP programme is currently offered at 15 international schools in Vietnam, including four that are full IB schools. These include: British International School (BIS) HCMC, British International School (BIS) Hanoi, International School Ho Chi Minh City, American International School of Vietnam, Canadian International School – Vietnam, European International School HCMC, Hanoi International School, International School of Vietnam, Renaissance International School Saigon, Saigon South International School, and United Nations International School of Hanoi.
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British International School, Ho Chi Minh City
• Average score: 38
• Highest score: 45
• No. students scored 40 points and above: 42%
• No. students achieving bilingual diploma: 19.4%
The 2020 cohort at British International School, Ho Chi Minh City celebrated a high average score of 36.9. More than a third of students achieved 40 points and above, which is the level of attainment required to gain admission to the world's elite universities, such as Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Stanford.
Principal Anthony Rowlands said:
“Despite the challenges that this year has brought, the class of 2020 has shown the true BIS HCMC spirit in achieving an outstanding IB average score of 36.9. This is the second-best average score in BIS history and the perseverance demonstrated by our students in such uncertain times is so commendable.
"These have been challenging and difficult times for everyone around the world but achievements such as these confirm the uniqueness and quality of the BIS HCMC community – a community that I am very proud to be a part of.”
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 Vietnam 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.”
NOTE: Please refer back to this feature for a complete round-up of results as they come in.