IB Points Calculator — 2026 Diploma Criteria

Background.

A candidate with 34 points can miss the IB Diploma while a classmate on exactly 24 earns it. The total matters, but the International Baccalaureate's passing criteria, as updated on 19 February 2026, also look at how the points are spread: between higher and standard level, across low grades, and in the core.

The total itself is simple addition. Each of six subjects is graded from 1 to 7, worth up to 42 points together. Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and the Extended Essay (EE) are each graded A to E, and the pair is converted through a fixed matrix into 0, 1, 2 or 3 extra points. Creativity, activity, service (CAS) earns nothing on the scoreboard but has to be completed. The ceiling is therefore 45.

The conditions are where totals mislead. HL grades of 4, 4 and 3 alongside three SL 7s make 32 subject points and 34 overall, yet the HL grades add to 11, one short of the 12 required, so the criteria are not met. Six 4s with a D in both TOK and the EE earn no core points and land on 24 exactly, and every condition is satisfied.

Enter your grades and the calculator adds them, applies the core matrix and runs each of the eight conditions it implements, reporting how many are unmet. It checks arithmetic; it does not award anything. Only your IB results and Diploma Programme coordinator can confirm grades, CAS completion and that no academic-integrity matter affects the outcome. University entry is a separate question again, with requirements set by each institution and often by each course.

What is ib points calculator?

IB Diploma points are the sum of six subject grades, each from 1 to 7, plus between 0 and 3 core points determined jointly by the TOK and Extended Essay grades. The diploma also depends on conditions the total alone cannot show: CAS completed, no grade of 1, no more than two 2s, no more than three grades of 3 or below, enough points at HL and at SL, and no E in either core component. Students taking four HL subjects have only their best three HL grades counted for the HL minimum, though all six grades still count toward the total.

How to use this calculator.

1. 01Enter your HL grades first, in Subjects 1 to 3 (or 1 to 4), then your SL grades in the remaining fields. The order is how the calculator tells HL from SL.
2. 02Choose three or four HL subjects to match your registration.
3. 03Select your TOK and Extended Essay grades and whether CAS is complete. Predicted grades work as well as final ones.
4. 04Read the total and the number of unmet conditions. If any are unmet, the HL and SL subtotals and the counts of 2s and low grades show which rule is failing.
5. 05With predicted grades, try lowering your weakest subject by one to see how much margin you really have.

The formula.

Total = sum of the six subject grades + core points. The core points come from a matrix of the two core grades, and the matrix is symmetric, so it does not matter which component earned which letter. A with A, or A with B, gives 3. A with C or D gives 2, as do B with B and B with C. B with D gives 1, as does C with C. C with D, and D with D, give 0. An E in either component is a failing condition whatever the other grade.

Eight conditions are then checked separately: CAS complete; a total of at least 24; no subject graded 1; no more than two grades of 2; no more than three grades of 3 or below; counted HL points of at least 12; SL points of at least 9 with three SL subjects, or at least 5 with two; and no E in TOK or the EE. The count of failures is reported, and zero means the criteria are met.

With four HL subjects, the three highest HL grades are counted for the 12-point rule, and the two remaining SL grades need only 5 between them. The dropped HL grade still counts in the total and in the tallies of low grades.

A worked example.

Frequently asked questions.

References& sources.

1. [1]IB DP passing criteria, updated 19 February 2026, supplies the exact core matrix and every implemented award condition.
2. [2]IB Diploma Programme Assessment procedures 2026 supplies the exact assessment-session governance context.
3. [3]IB Understanding DP Assessment independently restates six subject grades, up to three core points and the conditional 24-point minimum.