IB Social Anthropology HL Grade Boundaries: 74-81% for a 7

Overall boundaries, every session on record

Minimum scaled mark, out of 100, for each grade in IB Social and Cultural Anthropology HL. 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	75	63	53	42	27	14	12
May 2025 TZ2	75	63	53	42	27	14	12
May 2024	75	63	53	42	27	14	12
May 2023	75	63	53	42	27	14	12
May 2022 (exam route)	77	64	54	43	25	12	13
May 2021 (exam route)	74	62	53	43	24	10	12
November 2020	81	66	52	39	27	14	15
November 2019	80	66	53	39	28	14	14
May 2019	74	63	53	42	29	14	11
November 2018	76	64	51	38	25	12	12
May 2018	76	66	55	45	32	16	10
May 2017	75	65	53	44	32	16	10

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	33	28	23	19	15	9	85%
Paper 1	40	31	27	24	20	12	78%
Paper 2	45	32	27	22	17	13	71%

What do I need

IB Social and Cultural Anthropology HL: the mark you need, paper by paper

Session

Grade

In May 2025 TZ3 a 7 overall started at 75 out of 100 scaled marks. On each component:

Component	Out of	Minimum for a 7	As %
Internal assessment	33	28	85%
Paper 1	40	31	78%
Paper 2	45	32	71%

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)	77	64	54	43	25	12	13
May 2021 (non-exam route)	74	63	53	42	26	14	11

What the components say about where to work

In May 2025 TZ3 a 7 needed 85% on Internal assessment and 71% on Paper 2. 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 75% in TZ3 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 Social and Cultural Anthropology HL has averaged 75.1% in May and 79% 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 Social and Cultural Anthropology HL the 6 sits on average 12.1 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 81% or more on full mocks under exam conditions has a 7 in every session on record. A student at 74% has a 7 only on the hardest paper, and should plan for the 6 to 7 gap rather than assume it.

Sources

All 11 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 Social and Cultural Anthropology HL?

75% of the scaled marks in May 2025 TZ3. Over 11 sessions since May 2017 the 7 has started between 74% and 81%, 76.1% 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 Social and Cultural Anthropology HL?

Between 10 and 15 on the 100-mark scale, 12.1 on average. In May 2025 TZ3 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 Social and Cultural Anthropology HL?

In May 2025 TZ3 Internal assessment needed 28 out of 33 (85%) for a 7, the highest of the components, while Paper 2 needed 32 out of 45 (71%). The overall grade is what counts: a strong component carries a weaker one.

Are Social and Cultural Anthropology HL grade boundaries going up or down?

The May 7 moved from 75% in May 2024 to 75% 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.

Is November easier than May in Social and Cultural Anthropology HL?

Not in the boundaries: the 7 has averaged 75.1% in May sessions and 79% 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 11 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 Social and Cultural Anthropology HL grade boundaries: what you need for a 7