Exams

Fee information:

Each exam is $123.  

Certificate candidates: Students pay the year they test (usually the senior year)

Diploma candidates: The fees for the six courses are divided over two years.  This comes to a $369 fee the junior and senior year. 

Financial assistance and payment plans are available.

Please note: 

• IB Exams are part of the curriculum, and all students participating in IB courses take the exams at the end of the course.  
• IB Fees are assessed testing and diploma students at the beginning of the year for exams they are taking in May. Failure to pay this bill will result in not being registered for the exam(s). 
• Students will be required to complete and sign a test registration form by early November of the year in which they test in order to be registered for the exams. 
• Arrangements for students needing accommodations must be made by early November.  
• IB Exam dates are set by IB.  They run from early April to mid-May.  Students must participate in IB exams.  There are no make ups.  
• IB Exam schedule, complete with locations, are posted around SMNW three weeks prior to the start of exams.  

        Class: IB Spanish SL 1                                           Photo Credit: Haylee Bell   

Issuing of Results

In May, students receive an email to either their school email (juniors) or personal email (seniors) from the IB coordinator with their PIN reports to access the IB results using the online IB platform.  Students' results will be issued by IB in July of each year.  

Results are sent directly to colleges or universities.  IB will send up to three transcripts without charge; however scores can only be sent to one college or university in the United States. If your college or university says they do not have your IB scores, please contact Mrs. Walker at amywalker@smsd.org for help.  

A note about IB scores

It is important to keep in mind that this is, indeed, an international system. Therefore, the final marks students receive for each IB course they have completed represent how successfully they have meet IB's standards. Shawnee Mission School District recognizes the additional rigor necessary in IB courses by awarding an honors-weighted grade to the final grades students earn in almost all of the courses identified as "IB" on students' transcripts.

Final IB scores are released in July and have no bearing on the grades issued at Northwest in May.  

How are SMNW IB Grades Calculated?

Grades in IB courses are determined by using a combination of sources. Part of the marking period grades come from assignments, quizzes, and tests, which are generated and evaluated by the subject teacher at SM Northwest. 

How are IB Grades Calculated?

IB Grades, which range from 1-7, is a combination of internal and external assessments.  

Internal assessments are IB generated projects that students complete while being advised by their teachers.  These assignments are then graded using the IB criteria by the teacher and externally moderated by an IB grader.  For example, IB English and IB foreign language teachers assign and grade prescribed oral presentations; IB science teachers assess student notebooks of practical laboratory work; IB psychology teachers score an experiment carried out by students. Deadlines for IB Internal Assessments are set at the beginning of the year to ensure they are spread out.  

External Assessments are more commonly referred to as IB Exams.  These "externally assessed" assignments and exams are considered "independent entities" and are not "averaged in" with or contribute to a student's official Shawnee Mission School District transcript and overall grade point average per semester. For more information about IB exams, see that section.