IB German ab initio SL Grade Boundaries: 80-88% for a 7

Overall boundaries, every session on record

Minimum scaled mark, out of 100, for each grade in IB German ab initio SL. One row per session and timezone; May 2021 and 2022 and November 2021 and 2022 show the examination route.
Session	7	6	5	4	3	2	Gap 6 to 7
May 2025 TZ3	87	71	57	42	26	12	16
May 2025 TZ2	87	72	58	43	25	12	15
May 2024 TZ2	83	68	56	41	25	12	15
May 2024 TZ1	83	68	55	40	23	11	15
May 2023 TZ2	85	71	56	42	25	12	14
May 2023 TZ1	84	70	56	42	25	12	14
May 2022 (exam route)	80	64	49	33	21	9	16
May 2021 (exam route)	80	66	53	38	20	8	14
May 2019	87	73	61	47	32	15	14
May 2018	88	75	61	49	32	16	13
May 2017	87	73	61	47	30	15	14

Paper by paper: May 2025 TZ3

May 2025 TZ3: minimum raw mark for each grade on each component, and the 7 as a percentage of that component. Read from the IB grade boundaries document.
Component	Out of	7	6	5	4	3	7 as %
Internal assessment (oral)	30	27	22	18	13	8	90%
Paper 1	30	27	23	20	16	12	90%
Paper 2 (listening)	25	22	18	15	11	6	88%
Paper 2 (reading)	40	36	29	21	14	9	90%

What do I need

IB German ab initio SL: the mark you need, paper by paper

Session

Grade

In May 2025 TZ3 a 7 overall started at 87 out of 100 scaled marks. On each component:

Component	Out of	Minimum for a 7	As %
Internal assessment (oral)	30	27	90%
Paper 1	30	27	90%
Paper 2 (listening)	25	22	88%
Paper 2 (reading)	40	36	90%

Component grades come straight from the IB document for that session. The overall grade is on a 100-mark scale built from the components with the weightings in the subject guide, so it is not computed here: a strong component carries a weaker one, and the table shows how much room each one leaves.

Non-examination route, 2021 and 2022

Sessions in which schools that could not sit written examinations were graded on coursework and predicted evidence. The IB issued a separate boundaries document for that route.
Session	7	6	5	4	3	2	Gap 6 to 7
May 2022 (non-exam route)	80	64	49	33	21	9	16
May 2021 (non-exam route)	86	71	57	42	27	14	15

What the components say about where to work

In May 2025 TZ3 a 7 needed 90% on Internal assessment (oral) and 88% on Paper 2 (listening). The component with the lower threshold is the one candidates found hard, and it is usually the one where a few marks are cheapest to gain.

Marked work (internal assessment, orals, written tasks) is assessed against criteria known in advance, so it is the part of the grade under the student’s control before the exam. Which written paper has the lowest threshold changes from session to session, so a past paper should be marked against the boundaries of its own session, not against the latest one.

Timezones: the same session, different papers

In May the IB sets different papers for different parts of the world, and each gets its own boundaries. In May 2025 the 7 started at 87% in TZ3 and at 87% in TZ2.

A gap between timezones is not an advantage for one of them: the boundary follows the paper. The useful reading is the range across all timezones and sessions, which is what the first table shows.

The gap between a 6 and a 7

In German ab initio SL the 6 sits on average 14.5 marks below the 7 on the 100-mark scale. That is roughly one question answered fully instead of half-answered, or the marks lost to misread instructions across a whole paper.

Use the range, not the last session. A student scoring 88% or more on full mocks under exam conditions has a 7 in every session on record. A student at 80% has a 7 only on the hardest paper, and should plan for the 6 to 7 gap rather than assume it.

Sources

All 8 sessions were read from the grade boundaries document the IB issues to Diploma Programme coordinators after each session (one document per session; 2021 and 2022 have an examination-route and a non-examination-route document). The full dataset for every IB subject is on the grade boundaries overview, as CSV and JSON.

Independent work, not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate. Last checked 4 November 2026. Corrections: pietro@pietromeloni.com.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage do you need for a 7 in IB German ab initio SL?

87% of the scaled marks in May 2025 TZ3. Over 8 sessions since May 2017 the 7 has started between 80% and 88%, 84.6% on average. There is no fixed figure: the IB sets the boundaries after each session, once the papers have been marked.

How many marks separate a 6 from a 7 in German ab initio SL?

Between 13 and 16 on the 100-mark scale, 14.5 on average. In May 2025 TZ3 it was 16 marks. That is the size of one question answered fully instead of half-answered, which is why exam technique moves this grade more than new content.

Which component needs the highest mark for a 7 in German ab initio SL?

In May 2025 TZ3 Internal assessment (oral) needed 27 out of 30 (90%) for a 7, the highest of the components, while Paper 2 (listening) needed 22 out of 25 (88%). The overall grade is what counts: a strong component carries a weaker one.

Are German ab initio SL grade boundaries going up or down?

The May 7 moved from 83% in May 2024 TZ2 to 87% in May 2025 TZ3. A move of a few points between years is normal and reflects how hard that paper was, not a change in the standard.

Where do these numbers come from?

Every row on this page was read from the grade boundaries document the IB issues to Diploma Programme coordinators after each session, for all 8 sessions shown. The document lists, for every subject and level, the minimum raw mark for each grade on each component and the minimum scaled mark out of 100 for the overall grade.

IB German ab initio SL grade boundaries: what you need for a 7