IP vs IB vs A-Levels in Singapore: Explained in 5 Minutes

IP, IB, A-levels... sounds like alphabet soup? Don't worry. Let's demystify it, in five minutes. PSLE results day.

Your son opens the slip. Six points. Whoopee doo! Confetti.

The family chat explodes. And then, about four seconds later... now what? Ever wondered why Singapore's IB results look like a typo every year? In the November 2024 exams, our students averaged 38.4 out of 45.

The world? 29.2. And for years, close to half of the world's perfect 45s came from this tiny red dot. So what is this IB thing?

And should your kid be doing it? Steady. We go one by one. With a 6, the Integrated Programme is on the table.

ACS(I)'s cut-off, for example, was 4 to 7. IP means six years, no O-levels, and one big exam at 18. Most IP schools end in the A-levels. A handful end in the IB, led by ACS(I) and SJI.

The A-levels: about 11,000 to 12,000 students a year. Four subjects, General Paper, Project Work. And almost everything rides on the final exams. One big game day.

No pressure. The IB: about 2,400 students here. Six subjects, from languages to the arts. Plus an essay on how we know what we know.

Yes, really. Plus a long research essay. The final exams are about 70 to 80% of each grade. The rest is coursework.

So, less one big game day. More a two-year league season. Which brings us to the question every parent whispers at the school gate. Is the IB... easier?

For the folklore, we went to Reddit. Specifically, r/SGExams. Where it's basically a cage fight. One IB student: “every IB student will tell you, IB is hell”.

A JC student, same thread: “IB, seems to be easier”. Another swears they knew a 45-pointer who couldn't explain Singapore chemistry. Allegedly. And the IB kids hit back.

In A-levels, you can cram at the last minute. In IB, you work steadily for two years, or you fail. Also, they have a word for their pain. EETOKIA.

Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge, Internal Assessments. Plus CAS. They need a glossary just for the homework. So who's right?

The Straits Times asked educators who've taught both. The IB covers more ground, but its final exams tend to be less challenging. Exam-savvy kids tend to shine at A-levels. Self-starters who manage their time tend to shine in the IB.

So: not easier. Differently hard. So why are our IB scores so high? Educators point to four things.

One: the intake. These schools take from the top of the PSLE. Hello, 6-pointers. Two: culture.

An entrenched culture of wanting to do well in exams, as NIE's Jason Tan put it. Three: tuition. Yes, there is IB tuition. Of course there is.

Four: the schools themselves, with strong foundations and extra lessons. Meanwhile, the IB stopped publishing how many students score 45. To discourage comparisons. In Singapore.

Good luck with that. And the A-levels are lowering the stakes too. Project Work is now just pass or fail. From 2026, a fourth subject only counts if it helps your score.

And the university admission score is now out of 70, not 90. Then what? IB results now land in December. A-levels, late February.

The IB moved its date partly to help students make December university deadlines. Local universities take both. Aiming overseas? Cambridge's minimum IB offer is 41 to 42 points, with 7, 7, 6 at Higher Level.

So that 38.4 average? Lovely. Not automatic. And boys, either way: NS first.

You can defer for the IB or the A-levels. Never for a degree. Sorry. So how do you choose?

Not by the scoreboard. By the kid. Big-exam sprinter, or steady marathoner? Loves going deep, or going wide?

Needs a deadline, or makes their own? Pick the track that fits your kid. Not the one that wins the class chat. Whichever path, the coursework deadlines, exam dates and CCA schedules just multiply.

Share them to Aunty on myna, and she keeps the whole family on track. Follow for the next one: tiger mum, or not?