The IBO (International Baccalaureate Organization) offers to schools three programmes: the Diploma Programme for students in the final two years of secondary school, the Middle Years Programme for students aged 11 to 16, and the Primary Years Programme for students aged 3 to 12.
It has 1,182 schools in 101 countries. The IBO provides a wide range of services to the schools authorized to administer its programmes:
Curriculum and assessment development
Teacher training and information seminars
Electronic networking
Other educational services.
The IBO, founded in 1968, is a nonprofit educational foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland.It grew out of international schools' efforts as early as 1924 to establish a common curriculum and university entry credential. The schools were also motivated by an idealistic vision. They hoped that critical thinking and exposure to a variety of points of view would encourage intercultural understanding by young people.
They concentrated on the last two years of secondary school in order to build a curriculum that would lead to what they called a "baccalaureate. This would be administered in any country and be recognized by universities in every country.
Grants from UNESCO, the Twentieth Century Fund, the Ford Foundation and other groups made it possible to develop the Diploma Programme. The balanced curriculum and high standards of assessment for the Diploma Programme led to its rapid growth and widespread acceptance.
