Ahead of the June local elections, not only superintendent candidates but also local government head candidates are pledging to introduce the International Baccalaureate (IB). In the 2022 local elections, 17 of the 57 superintendent candidates pledged to introduce or support the IB. The IB policy has gained broad support across both conservative and progressive political leanings.
Some have raised concerns that teachers with particular political biases could steer students toward specific viewpoints under the IB. This is because the core of the IB is not multiple-choice questions with predetermined answers but essay and project-based assessments. Many people mistakenly believe that questions without predetermined answers allow any response at will. However, there is a clear qualitative difference between criticism and argument. Looking at the IB's grading criteria, the core of the assessment lies not in "what was argued" but in "how logically, persuasively, and completely any given argument was developed."
No matter how eloquent the words, if the content is weak or lacks sincerity, it is assessed as "all talk, no substance." Under the IB, even the most eloquent argument cannot earn a high score unless it demonstrates logical completeness based on the grading criteria.
The assessment levels are also clearly differentiated. Explaining an argument smoothly can earn a middle score. To obtain a high score, students must present various counterarguments and refute them or partially accept them to refine their thesis. Balancing and integrating different perspectives is essential. To earn the highest score, the discussion must go beyond abstract claims and be verified within actual cases and contexts. The depth of thought and scope of expansion required at each level differ. Ultimately, it is not rhetorical technique but balanced and integrated thinking that determines IB scores.
Given these grading criteria, the IB is structured in a way that makes it difficult for arguments skewed to one side, whether far-right or far-left, to earn high scores. Biased arguments struggle to adequately refute numerous counterarguments, and it is even harder to persuade others. The IB assesses the ability to handle diverse perspectives. Therefore, faithfully following the grading criteria naturally leads thinking away from extreme bias and toward a rational and balanced point.
This does not reject any particular political orientation but permits any orientation. It simply means that the more extreme one goes, the harder it becomes to satisfy the complex argumentative structure required for high IB scores. The IB's mission explicitly states the goal of nurturing "lifelong learners who understand that others, with their differences, can also be right."
In an assessment system that always demands a single correct answer, students are trained to judge different opinions as wrong. As a result, they feel uncomfortable with people who think differently. The IB philosophy embodies an awareness that such perceptions can lead to bullying and violence within schools, extreme factional conflict in society, and war at the national level. For this reason, the IB does not evaluate students using test questions in which only one ideology or value is the correct answer. Instead, it assesses the ability to construct one's own perspective and opinions precisely based on subject knowledge, and to verify and expand them among diverse viewpoints. The target of assessment is the ability to acknowledge differences while reaching better interpretations through discussion. That ability is ultimately a social competency that enables managing conflict and making coexistence possible.
The IB's questions without predetermined answers do not mean that all answers students propose at will are permitted. They demand a higher level of responsible thinking. The IB's grading structure is designed to pursue balance and integration. Even within the same essay format, the abilities cultivated differ depending on how the grading criteria are designed.
Education that memorizes correct answers turns those who think differently into uncomfortable beings, but education that builds answers together turns others into beings with whom we must coexist.
