The International Preparatory School is recognized as a Centre for Cambridge International Examinations. Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) is part of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations syndicate (UCLES), a department of the University of Cambridge which has been carrying out educational assessment internationally since 1863. UCLES also produces school examinations in the United Kingdom and tests English of speakers of other languages.
This means that The International Preparatory School is authorized to administer the International Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), AS and A-Levels and the Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), which are accepted for admission to U.K. universities as well as many other universities around the world. The school also applies the Checkpoint examination for students who are about to begin their preparation for the IGCSEs.
England and many other Commonwealth countries differ from the United States in that the minimum school-leaving age is 16, after 11 years of compulsory education. At this time students may take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Cambridge has also developed an international version (IGCSE) of this examination to meet the needs of international schools.
As university education begins at age 18 in the UK, students who wish to go on to higher education then prepare to take three A Level examinations. Since 2001, students have been able to take a staged route to an A Level qualification by first taking an Advanced Subsidiary Level (AS Level) examination after one year of study. The AS Level represents the first half of an A Level subject curriculum. The second half of the examination is called A2 and is taken after the second year of further study. Honours degree programmes in English universities run for three years rather than four.
The IGCSE is divided into five groups: Language; Humanities and Social Sciences; Sciences; Mathematics; Creative, Technical and Vocational. Passing grades for IGCSE exams range from A to G, with A being the highest. Since its first examination in 1988, IGCSE has grown to an annual candidate entry of more than 250,000. According to CIE,
Five passes at grade C or higher would indicate a student's readiness to begin freshman level courses in American universities. If a student passes seven IGCSE examinations, with two from the language group, one from each of the other four groups and one more from any of the five groups, then he/she will quailfy for an International Certificate of Education (ICE) Diploma. This diploma equates to a US advanced academic or honors high school diploma. It is awarded at one of three levels -Distinction, Merit or Pass -depending upon the grades earned on the seven examinations.
In the US students in schools where IGCSE courses are typically offered take them during their 9th and 10th grade years and sit for the examinations at the end of 10th grade. From there they move on to US college level equivalent courses in 11th and 12th grades which make up the curriculum for the AS and A Level courses. AICE was developed at the request of schools that wanted a broader-based alternative to A Levels while retaining the A Level depth of study. It allows students the option of broadening their studies from the traditional three subjects at A Level to as many as six subjects at AS Level when pursuing an AICE Diploma.
The following excerpt is taken from information provided by the CIE.
First introduced by Cambridge in 1994, AICE provides a high-quality English-medium qualification which prepares young people for honours degree programmes. It is a 'group' certificate which requires the study of subjects drawn from three curriculum areas. AICE offers students the opportunity to tailor their studies to their individual interests, abilities and future plans within an international curriculum framework.
The AICE program was successfully piloted between 1997 and 2000 in Florida where it continues to receive legislative support and funding. AICE and pre-AICE courses will be listed in future Florida Course Code Directories and have been evaluated by the Department of Education's Articulation Coordinating Committee for the purpose of recommending college course equivalencies. Many colleges and universities are awarding students advanced standing and academic credit for AICE examinations passed. High school students in Florida have been earning prestigious AICE Diplomas and succeeding on AICE examinations since 1998.