• DP Program

    Diploma Program At-A-Glance

    Students must take IB courses and earn a passing IB assessment score in all 6 groups listed.

    Group 1:  Studies in Language and Literature

    Group 2:  Language Acquisition (Spanish or Chinese)

    Group 3:  Individuals and Societies

    Group 4:  Sciences

    Group 5:  Mathematics

    Group 6:  The Arts or another IB Elective chosen from groups 2, 3 or 4.

    • Students select at least three, but no more than four, Higher Level Subjects (HL). These IB HL courses are taken during their junior year and senior year.
    • Each course in groups 1-5 contains an internal assessment (graded by the teacher) and an external assessment (graded by IB). 
    • Group 6 courses do not have an external assessment, but rather more involved internal assessment components and projects.

    In addition to their DP courses, students will take Theory of Knowledge and DP workshop. The purpose of these two courses is to support students with the requirements of the DP Core. The Theory of Knowledge course will obviously support the TOK requirements, while the DP workshop course will support the CAS and EE requirements.

    • Theory of Knowledge (TOK) - Complete a Theory of Knowledge Exhibition and Essay.
    • Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) - Participate in extracurriculars within each of the three areas (Creativity, Activity, Service) along with reflections and a CAS project. 
    • Extended Essay (EE) - Successfully complete a 3500-4000 word Extended Essay (research paper) in a topic of your choosing. A supervisor will be assigned to each student based on what topic they select for their EE who is a content expert in that area.

    DP Scoring Breakdown: 

    In the DP, students receive grades ranging from 7 to 1, with 7 being highest. Students receive a grade for each DP course attempted. This grade comes from a combination of how a student performs on their Internal Assessment and External Assessment (if there is one) for each course. 

    A student’s final diploma result score is made up of the combined scores for each subject. The diploma is awarded to students who gain at least 24 points, subject to certain minimum levels of performance including successful completion of the three essential elements of the DP core. 

    The theory of knowledge (TOK) and extended essay (EE) components are awarded individual grades and, collectively, can contribute up to 3 additional points towards the overall diploma score (see matrix below. Completing the TOK essay and  EE with a passing score (D) is required to earn an IB Diploma.

    Creativity, activity, service (CAS) – the remaining element in the DP core – does not contribute to the points total but authenticated participation is a requirement for the award of the diploma.

    The IB awards the same number of points for higher level (HL) and standard level (SL) courses, reflecting the IB’s belief in the importance of achievement across a broad range of academic disciplines.

    HL and SL courses differ in scope but are assessed against the same grade descriptors, with HL candidates expected to demonstrate the various elements of the grade descriptors across a greater body of knowledge, understanding and skills. 

    **Students who earn a score of 30 or higher receive sophomore standing at some Oregon Universities!

    CAS - Creativity, Activity, Service 

    Requirements: 

    • Participate in a variety of different experiences such as volunteer work, extracurriculars, learning a new skill, etc, over an eighteen month period.
    • Complete a CAS project. This must be an experience over a longer period of time (at least 1 month).
    • Complete a portfolio which highlights all of their experiences, reflections, and evidence of learning outcomes. 

    Key Features: 

    • CAS Strands: Creativity, Activity, Service
      • The categories under which each CAS experience must fall. 

    • CAS Stages: Investigation, Preparation, Action, Reflection, Demonstration

      • The supportive framework under which students engage with their CAS experiences so they can get the most benefit out of them.
      • Allows students to increase self awareness, learn about their learning, develop their ability to communicate and collaborate with others, and experience and recognize personal development.
    • Learning Outcomes: the seven learning goals that students need to show evidence of through their participation in their learning experiences.
      1. Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
      2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
      3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
      4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
      5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
      6. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
      7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

    TOK - Theory of Knowledge

    The TOK course includes:

    Core Theme: Knowledge and the Knower

    • This theme provides an opportunity for students to reflect on themselves as knowers and thinkers, and on the different communities of knowers to which we belong.

    Optional themes - Students are required to study two optional themes from the following five options. The bolded themes are the ones Mrs. Abrams (our TOK teacher) has selected to focus on.

    • Knowledge and technology
    • Knowledge and language
    • Knowledge and politics
    • Knowledge and religion
    • Knowledge and indigenous societies

    Areas of knowledge - Students are required to study the following five areas of knowledge.

    • History
    • The human sciences
    • The natural sciences
    • The arts
    • Mathematics

    EE - The Extended Essay 

    The EE is an in-depth (3500-4000 word) investigation into a specific research question chosen by the student in consultation with a supervising teacher at Riverside. It is intended to promote high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity. Students may choose their own topic and research question from a wide variety of possible subjects they are already studying, such as English, history, math, science, foreign language, art, theater, etc.
    The overall process will roughly follow the outline below: 

    1. The student chooses an IB subject they are studying in their junior year.  
    2. The student chooses a topic within that subject.
    3. The supervisor helps the student narrow and focus the topic, and then helps the student develop a research question. 
    4. The student begins researching their topic and outlining their ideas. 
    5. The student writes a first draft. This is an academic research paper and should include citations and a “literature review” in which the student sets the research question in the context of what has already been written on the subject. The first draft and some editing should be completed before the end of junior year. 

    6. The supervisor and student meet for a total of 3 mandatory reflection sessions

      1. Session 1: End of Quarter 2 Junior Year 

      2. Session 2: End of Quarter 4 Junior Year 

      3. Session 3 (Viva Voce): Fall of Semester 1 Senior Year

    7. The student must write a reflection on each reflection session. There is a 500 word maximum (total) for all of the written reflections. Written reflections should be entered into our organization system by the student. 

    8. Complete the final draft by October 31st of senior year.