Things to Know about IB Economics Changes

1. If you take your IB exams in 2023 (meaning you started the IB Diploma in 2022), you’ll studytheneweconomicssyllabus!Thechangestookplacein theyear2022 as the economics syllabus has been the same for the past 9 years, so you’ll be the guinea pigs of the new content. We at ReWiser took the time to combine the new subjectguideandcomparedittotheoldone,toseejusthow different thecoursewill be! We’ve highlighted a few differences that you need to be aware of. Keep reading tounderstand. RevisedApproachDependenton HolisticContentAssessment Whatdoyoumeanby“holistic”inthecontextoftheupdatedIBEconomicscourse? It means that the assessment brings together different course aspects, instead of breakingthem down andtesting them oneby one. Due to this reason, IB Economics students should actively look for connections, similarities,and differences betweenconceptsofcourses.ConsidermakingVenn diagramsasapartofyourstudytimetablekeepingthe“biggerpicture”inmind. The changes in assessment don’t mean that students cannot use past IB Economics contenttopreparefortheupdatedtasks. Rather, wewouldrecommendthatstudents shouldpractice respondingto them froma broaderangle.

2. RevisionstoPaper1andPaper2 BothSL(StandardLevel)andHL(HigherLevel)studentsarerequiredtowritePaper 1and2. OnlyHL studentsgo withan additionaltask calledPaper 3. Earlier, Paper 1 had Section A and Section B, which tests microeconomics, and macroeconomicsconcepts.SectionAandSectionBhad2subsections,the1stof whichusuallyrequiredanexplanationandthe2ndofwhichgenerallyrequired discussion.ForbothSectionAandSectionB,studentshadtheoptiontochooseany one question to answer out of two. All subsections for the selected question were mandatory. Paper 2 had a similar structure. It consisted of Section A and Section B which coveredinternational,anddevelopmentaleconomics.Bothquestionshadfour subsections,andstudents againhad aselectionof questions. Since May 2022, Paper 1 has become an “extended response paper that now assessesthewholecourse,”keepingwiththenewlyholisticnatureofIBEconomics. Paper 2 includes both quantitative and qualitative data based on real-world scenariosor case studies. For the revised version of Paper 2, students should feel comfortable working with both economics-related maths and written texts. Graphic literacy is a necessity, so studentsshouldlooktoexposethemselvestoavarietyofvisualrepresentationsof economicdata throughout thecalendar year. RevisionstotheInternal AssessmentPortfolio The revised internal assessment portfolio requires students to analyze 3-course conceptsfrom thelist: scarcity, choice,efficiency,equity, economicwell-being, sustainability, change, interdependence, and intervention. Students should use this assignmenttodemonstratehowtheirthreeselectedconceptsapplytotherealworld. To prepare for this task throughout the school year, students should stay alongside themajordevelopmentsintheworld ofeconomics.Waystodo thesamemay

3. involvereadingfinancialnewsinpublicationssuchasTheWallStreetJournal,which will help students become familiar with financial terminology, relevant graphs, charts, andtrending topics. Students need to be aware of these major changes to the IB Economics course to avoidunpleasantsurprisesandpreparefortheirbest.Toknowmore,youcanalso readthe IB’sofficial explanationof these revisions. Needmoreindividualizedadvice? With the help of this blog, we have certainly smoothed it over for you. For such amazing blogs do visit our website, follow our Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn channels, like, follow our Facebook channel, and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content like this in the future! From helping students prepare and score better in the areas of standardized testing: SAT, ACT, and AP teststoprovidinghighschoolacademicsupportrequirements:IGCSE,IBSubjects, andAS/ALevel classes;ReWiser iswith youevery stepof theway!