About the IB World School

The International Baccalaureate Program at Plano East High School is an academically challenging and balanced program of education that prepares students for success at university and life beyond. Although the coursework at the IB World School is rigorous and challenging, the heart of the IB program is its mission statement which asserts its goal of creating "inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect." 

The IB World School is a four year academy and includes the locally developed International Honors Preparatory Program for 9th and 10th grade students and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for students in grades 11 and 12.

In grades 9 and 10, students are required to enroll in International Honors Humanities while concurrently taking the International Honors version of grade-appropriate advanced core subjects.  Because the IB requires students to acquire a second language, all IH students are also enrolled in a world language. At the end of tenth grade, students develop their IB Diploma Plan which requires them to take six International Baccalaureate courses from various subgroups.

Students begin taking IB classes as juniors. Standard Level (SL) courses are taken in one year, and High Level (HL) courses are taken over the span of two years. Within their IB courses, students take internal assessments which are graded locally and also end-of-year examinations which are submitted to the IB for scoring.  In addition to these six courses, Theory of Knowledge - a class that focuses on how we know what we know -- is required for all diploma candidates and is considered part of the Diploma Core. The Diploma Core also includes a 4,000 word extended essay and a Creativity, Activity, Service requirement and student-designed project.