Top Bar

Lower Merion School District

Off-Canvas

Enhancements to LMSD’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Program

For implementation in 2021-22 for the IB Class of 2023.

The program documentation revised in September 2020 integrates these enhancements.

  Current Program Change Impact
English A, B All native English speakers are required to take English A: Literature HL, a two-year course.  All English Learners are required to take English B HL, a two-year course. Addition of English A: Literature SL, a standard-level two-year course combined with the HL course.

 

Addition of English B SL, a standard-level two-year course combined with the HL course.

Students take 3-4 HL (higher level) subjects.  Our current model requires two of them to be English and History.  The third can be selected from either the science, math, or elective groups, and students who request a fourth must choose math.

 

Students will be able to opt to take English and/or History SL and will therefore have much more freedom in selecting HL courses.

Some combinations of classes will result in a senior year of 8 IB sets, so care should be taken to schedule US Government before graduation.

History of the Americas All students are required to take History of the Americas HL, a two-year course.  This satisfies the graduation requirement of US History. Addition of History of the Americas SL, a standard-level two-year course combined with the HL course.  This satisfies the graduation requirement of US History.
4th HL subject A 4th HL subject must be math. Students can select freely 3-4 HL subjects.

Sample course combinations that would be possible:

  Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
English English A: Literature SL English A: Literature HL English A: Literature HL
Second Language Spanish B SL Latin SL French ab initio SL
History History of the Americas SL History of the Americas SL History of the Americas HL
Science Physics HL Chemistry HL Biology HL
Math Mathematics: Analysis and approaches HL Mathematics: Analysis and approaches HL Mathematics: Applications and interpretation SL
Elective Chemistry HL Psychology HL Music HL
Comments This STEM-oriented student would not be able to take two HL sciences and HL math because of the current requirement to take English and History at the higher level.  Students may have a maximum of 4 HL courses. This student would have had to choose either Chemistry SL and Psychology HL or the reverse because of the requirement to take History HL and the prohibition against HL science and HL elective. This humanities-oriented student chose the least mathematically intense science while ensuring studying science for four years.  In order to keep Music HL, this student would have been required to take a 1-year Biology SL class and would have no science senior year.