IB Mathematics (pre-2021) HL Grade Boundaries 2017-2020

Overall boundaries, every session on record

Minimum scaled mark, out of 100, for each grade in IB Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL. One row per session and timezone and option; May 2021 and 2022 and November 2021 and 2022 show the examination route.
Session	Option	7	6	5	4	3	2	Gap 6 to 7
November 2020	Calculus	80	68	56	44	31	15	12
November 2020	Discrete	78	66	53	40	29	14	12
November 2020	Sets	81	69	56	44	31	15	12
November 2020	Statistics	81	69	57	44	33	16	12
November 2019	Calculus	83	71	58	45	32	16	12
November 2019	Discrete	82	71	58	45	34	17	11
November 2019	Sets	82	70	58	45	32	16	12
November 2019	Statistics	82	70	57	45	31	15	12
May 2019 TZ2	Calculus	75	64	50	37	26	13	11
May 2019 TZ2	Discrete	79	67	54	41	30	15	12
May 2019 TZ2	Sets	78	66	53	40	28	14	12
May 2019 TZ2	Statistics	77	65	52	40	28	14	12
May 2019 TZ1	Calculus	74	62	50	37	25	12	12
May 2019 TZ1	Discrete	77	66	53	41	29	14	11
May 2019 TZ1	Sets	76	65	53	40	27	13	11
May 2019 TZ1	Statistics	75	64	52	40	27	13	11
November 2018	Calculus	79	67	53	40	28	14	12
November 2018	Discrete	79	67	54	41	30	15	12
November 2018	Statistics	81	69	56	43	30	15	12
May 2018 TZ2	Calculus	80	68	55	42	30	15	12
May 2018 TZ2	Discrete	79	67	55	42	30	15	12
May 2018 TZ2	Sets	81	69	57	44	31	15	12
May 2018 TZ2	Statistics	82	70	57	44	31	15	12
May 2018 TZ1	Calculus	74	63	50	38	25	13	11
May 2018 TZ1	Discrete	73	62	50	37	25	13	11
May 2018 TZ1	Sets	75	64	52	40	27	13	11
May 2018 TZ1	Statistics	76	64	52	39	27	13	12
May 2017 TZ2	Calculus	78	65	52	39	26	13	13
May 2017 TZ2	Discrete	80	68	55	42	28	14	12
May 2017 TZ2	Sets	80	68	55	41	27	14	12
May 2017 TZ2	Statistics	80	67	54	41	27	14	13
May 2017 TZ1	Calculus	78	65	53	40	28	13	13
May 2017 TZ1	Discrete	80	68	56	43	29	14	12
May 2017 TZ1	Sets	80	68	56	42	29	14	12
May 2017 TZ1	Statistics	80	67	55	42	29	14	13

Paper by paper: November 2020 · Calculus

November 2020 · Calculus: 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 (exploration)	20	17	15	12	9	6	85%
Paper 1	100	80	68	55	43	33	80%
Paper 2	100	80	67	54	41	31	80%
Paper 3	50	40	35	31	26	18	80%

What do I need

IB Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL: the mark you need, paper by paper

Session

Grade

In November 2020 (Calculus) a 7 overall started at 80 out of 100 scaled marks. On each component:

Component	Out of	Minimum for a 7	As %
Internal assessment (exploration)	20	17	85%
Paper 1	100	80	80%
Paper 2	100	80	80%
Paper 3	50	40	80%

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.

What the components say about where to work

In November 2020 · Calculus a 7 needed 85% on Internal assessment (exploration) and 80% on Paper 1. 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 2019 the 7 started at 74% in TZ1 and at 75% 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.

May against November

On record the 7 in Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL has averaged 77.8% in May and 80.7% in November. The two sessions are set to the same standard; the difference is the papers, not the season.

The gap between a 6 and a 7

In Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL the 6 sits on average 11.9 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 83% or more on full mocks under exam conditions has a 7 in every session on record. A student at 73% has a 7 only on the hardest paper, and should plan for the 6 to 7 gap rather than assume it.

Sources

All 6 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 Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL?

80% of the scaled marks in November 2020 · Calculus. Over 6 sessions since May 2017 TZ1 the 7 has started between 73% and 83%, 78.7% 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 Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL?

Between 11 and 13 on the 100-mark scale, 11.9 on average. In November 2020 · Calculus it was 12 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 Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL?

In November 2020 · Calculus Internal assessment (exploration) needed 17 out of 20 (85%) for a 7, the highest of the components, while Paper 1 needed 80 out of 100 (80%). The overall grade is what counts: a strong component carries a weaker one.

Are Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL grade boundaries going up or down?

The May 7 moved from 80% in May 2018 TZ2 to 75% in May 2019 TZ2. A move of a few points between years is normal and reflects how hard that paper was, not a change in the standard.

Is November easier than May in Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL?

Not in the boundaries: the 7 has averaged 77.8% in May sessions and 80.7% in November sessions on record. The IB sets both to the same standard, so a difference of a point or two reflects the papers of those sessions, not a softer session.

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 6 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 Mathematics (2014 to 2020 syllabus) HL grade boundaries: what you need for a 7