How IB scoring works: the 45 points, the core matrix and every failing condition

The IB Diploma is scored out of 45 points. Each of your six subjects is graded from 1 to 7, which gives up to 42, and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and the Extended Essay (EE) together add up to 3 more. You need at least 24 points, but 24 is not enough on its own: a list of extra conditions (no grade 1, minimum points at HL and SL, no E in TOK or the EE, CAS completed) can fail a student with 30 or more.

Where do the 45 points come from?

A 7 at SL is worth exactly as much as a 7 at HL. There is no weighting for level in the total. Level only comes back in two of the failing conditions below, which set separate minimums for your HL and SL points.

How is a single subject grade worked out?

Every subject grade combines two kinds of assessment:

• External assessment: the written exams, plus any coursework that IB examiners mark themselves.
• Internal assessment (IA): work your teacher marks, which the IB then moderates. Moderation means the IB re-marks a sample of your class's IAs and moves all of your teacher's marks up or down to match. The IA mark your teacher tells you is therefore provisional.

The weights differ by subject and level. Three examples from current courses:

You do not get a grade per paper. Your marks on each component are weighted, added into one total, and that total is converted to a 1–7 grade using grade boundaries set at grade awarding, shortly before results come out. Boundaries are agreed each session by senior examiners and IB staff, and they move: down if a paper turned out harder than usual, up if it was easier. Exams are also written in time-zone variants, which are generally reported to have their own boundaries. That is why "a 7 is 80%" is never reliable; our guide to IB grade boundaries explains how to use past boundaries without over-trusting them.

The practical consequence: your IA is banked marks before the exams start. In Psychology SL it is almost a third of the grade.

How do TOK and the Extended Essay become 3 points?

TOK and the EE are each graded A to E. The two letters are then read off a matrix to give 0, 1, 2 or 3 core points. This is the matrix as schools publish it (the EE guide prints it as a figure), so check your school's handbook or coordinator if anything looks different:

Three things are worth noticing:

• The matrix has plateaus. Going from an EE B / TOK C to an EE B / TOK B gains nothing: both are 2 points. Going from B / B to A / B gains one. If you know your likely grades, you can see whether more TOK or EE effort would actually move your total.
• One strong grade carries a weak one. An A with a D is still 2 points.
• An E in either is a failing condition, whatever the other letter and whatever your subject total.

From May 2027 the EE is marked out of 30 under new criteria (November 2026 is the last session on the old 34-mark model), but it is still reported as a letter from A to E and still feeds the same matrix. See the EE criteria and the TOK essay guide for how each is marked.

What are the IB failing conditions?

You are awarded the Diploma only if every one of these holds. The list below follows the IB's General regulations: Diploma Programme (2016 edition, updated 2019), put into plain words. The current wording sits in the IB's annual assessment procedures, which are not public, so confirm the details with your DP coordinator.

1. You have met the CAS requirements.
2. Your total is 24 points or more.
3. You have no "N" in TOK, the EE or any subject. An N means no grade was awarded, for example because work was missing or because of academic misconduct.
4. You have no E in TOK or the EE.
5. You have no grade 1 in any subject, HL or SL.
6. You have no more than two grade 2s.
7. You have no more than three grades of 3 or below in total. (Each 2 counts towards this as well.)
8. You have at least 12 points from your HL subjects. If you take four HL subjects, your best three count.
9. You have at least 9 points from your SL subjects. If you take only two SL subjects, you need at least 5 points from them.
10. The final award committee has not applied an academic misconduct penalty.

Can you fail the IB with more than 24 points?

Yes. Every student below has completed CAS and has no N grades.

Walk through Emma, because she shows how to check a result yourself:

1. Total: 12 + 10 + 2 = 24. Meets the minimum exactly.
2. Grades of 3 or below: two (both SL 3s). Allowed, since the limit is three.
3. No 1s, no 2s, no E in the core.
4. HL points: 12. Meets the HL minimum exactly.
5. SL points: 10. Above the 9 needed.

Now compare Chloé. She has a point more than Emma and more HL points, yet fails, purely because her fourth grade of 3 tips her over the limit. Raising any one of her SL 3s to a 4 would give her the Diploma with 26 points.

When you have predicted or mock grades, run this same five-step check on them. If you are close to a condition, that subject is your priority, not the one where you are already strongest. Our guide to IB predicted grades covers how those predictions are set.

What is the bilingual Diploma?

A bilingual Diploma is awarded when you meet the normal Diploma requirements and, in addition, either:

• you score 3 or higher in two group 1 subjects (studies in language and literature), or
• you score 3 or higher in a group 1 subject and 3 or higher in a group 3 (individuals and societies) or group 4 (sciences) subject taken in a different language.

For example, a student taking Dutch A Literature who sits Biology in English qualifies with a 3 or better in each. It adds no points; it is a note on the Diploma itself.

Diploma or DP Course Results: what is the difference?

If you meet every condition, you receive the Diploma plus a results document listing your points, subject grades, core grades and CAS completion.

If you do not, or if you were registered as a course candidate (taking individual DP subjects rather than the full Diploma), you receive DP Course Results: a record of each subject grade you earned. People often call this the "IB certificate", but the official name is DP Course Results. The grades on it are the same IB grades a Diploma student would receive; how a university treats course results is up to that university, so ask admissions directly. For course candidates the EE is optional.

If you miss the Diploma, you can retake subjects or core elements in a later session, usually November. The higher grade counts, and the IB allows a maximum of three examination sessions to meet the Diploma requirements. Ask your coordinator early, because schools are not obliged to accept retake candidates and set their own fees. The IB timeline shows where the November session falls.

What does 24 points mean in practice?

Twenty-four is a floor for the award, not a target. A few consequences:

• Four in everything passes. Six 4s give 24, with 12 HL and 12 SL points and no low grades, so even an EE D with a TOK D (0 core points) gets the Diploma.
• University offers are usually set higher and often name subjects. An offer might read like "a total of 34 points including 6 in HL Chemistry": the numbers vary by course and university, so read each requirement rather than aiming at 24.
• Points are cheapest near a boundary. A subject where you sit one or two marks under the next grade usually repays work faster than polishing a subject that is already safe. The why you're not improving guide is about finding exactly that gap, and an IB revision plan makes sure the weak subject gets its days.