Every few years, the IB changes its syllabus for various subjects; in 2020 it was the turn of the IB DP Economics programme. However, by truly reflecting on why the IB has changed the IB Economics syllabus, it is clear that the key to scoring a 7 in IB Economics has remained the same. Put differently, incoming IB DP Economics students should not feel at an advantage or disadvantage with respect to previous IB Economics candidates. Indeed, whether it comes to securing a 7 in the final IB exam or the IB Internal Assessment (IB IA), the essay technique remains the same.
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) stresses that the move towards a new IB DP syllabus was geared to ensure a heavier focus towards ‘real-life’ scenarios, thereby implying that IB students must think about ‘real-world’ examples when writing their IB Economics Internal Assessments and final IB exam. It is precisely for this reason, the IB claims that the new syllabus involves nine new concepts: scarcity, choice, efficiency, sustainability, economic well-being, intervention and interdependence.
As an IB DP tutor who has specialized in teaching IB Economics for the past 7 years, it is clear to me that concepts like scarcity and choice – just to mention a couple – were already part of the ‘Introduction to Economics’ section of the previous syllabus. Similarly, when writing an IB Economics IA or answering exam-style questions, I used to train my IB students (and still do so) to follow a rigorous approach involving defining key economic terminology, followed by diagrams and real-world examples. So, already 7 years ago, when I took on my first tutee, students were trained to leverage real-world examples to excel in the IA and the IB exam. Thus, it is obvious that nothing has truly changed when it comes down to structuring essay-style answers in the exam or when tackling an IA: real-world examples were crucial then and now.
From a course structure perspective, the previous IB syllabus was divided into 4 units: Micro, Macro, International Economics and Development Economics. The new syllabus has merely combined the latter two into a section called ‘The Global Economy’. Once again, little has changed.
What has changed though, is the weighting behind the IA and the exam paper – with Paper 3 carrying 30% of the final IB Economics grade for HL students rather than 20%. Paper 3 was historically known to be easiest paper to score a 7, and those candidates who scored a 7 overall in IB Econ HL usually tended to also score a 7 in paper 3. The new paper 3 however does not focus solely on assessing quantitative skills, as a heavier emphasis is placed on students suggesting policies to tackle certain economic problems. Only time will tell if this slight broadened focus in paper 3 has made it easier or harder for students to score a 7.