IB DP Maths AI · Exam special · SL & HL · all papers and time zones · ~5 min read
IB Maths AI Grade Boundaries (May 2025 & Nov 2024)
Every grade boundary for IB Maths AI from the IB subject reports: May 2025 time zones 1–3 and November 2024, SL and HL, overall and paper by paper, and what it takes to get a 7.
Overall boundariesPaper 1, 2, 3IA boundaries% for a 7Time zones2029 changes
RSby Riyaz Sir
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No tag = SL and HLHL ONLY HL students onlyFORMULA BOOKLET given in the examM1A1 how marks are awardedhighlight = comes up again and againHANDY worth memorisingTest yourself at the end
In 30 seconds
- A 7 in May 2025 needed 66–77 out of 100 at SL and 66–77 at HL, depending on the time zone. In November 2024 it needed 82 (SL) and 77 (HL).
- A 4 needed only 27–35 out of 100 at SL in May 2025.
- Time zones 1 and 2 had much lower boundaries than time zone 3 in May 2025, because each zone sat a different variant of the papers.
- Every number on this page comes from the IB's own subject reports for November 2024 and May 2025.
1How IB Maths AI grades work
| Component | SL weighting | HL weighting | Marks on the paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (calculator) | 40% | 30% | SL 80, HL 110 |
| Paper 2 (calculator) | 40% | 30% | SL 80, HL 110 |
| Paper 3 (HL, calculator) | – | 20% | 55 |
| Internal assessment (exploration) | 20% | 20% | 20 |
- Technology is required on every AI paper, so boundaries reward setting up and interpreting problems, not arithmetic.
- Grade boundaries are set after marking, using the scripts and the statistics. A harder paper gets lower boundaries.
- In November 2024 one SL Paper 2 question part had an error and was removed, so that paper was graded out of 75. One HL Paper 2 part was removed for a translation error, so it was graded out of 108.
2May 2025 and November 2024: overall boundaries
- The lowest overall mark (out of 100) for each grade. A 1 is anything below the grade 2 boundary.
Standard level (SL)
| Session | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2025 TZ1 | 10–19 | 20–28 | 29–41 | 42–54 | 55–69 | 70–100 |
| May 2025 TZ2 | 9–17 | 18–26 | 27–39 | 40–52 | 53–65 | 66–100 |
| May 2025 TZ3 | 11–21 | 22–34 | 35–48 | 49–62 | 63–76 | 77–100 |
| Nov 2024 | 14–26 | 27–41 | 42–56 | 57–69 | 70–81 | 82–100 |
Higher level (HL)
| Session | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2025 TZ1 | 11–22 | 23–31 | 32–43 | 44–54 | 55–65 | 66–100 |
| May 2025 TZ2 | 12–23 | 24–32 | 33–44 | 45–55 | 56–65 | 66–100 |
| May 2025 TZ3 | 13–25 | 26–37 | 38–51 | 52–64 | 65–76 | 77–100 |
| Nov 2024 | 15–27 | 28–38 | 39–51 | 52–64 | 65–76 | 77–100 |
3Paper-by-paper boundaries
- Each cell gives the lowest mark for a 7 (and that as a percentage), then the lowest mark for a 4.
SL papers
| Component (7 · 4) | May 2025 TZ1 | May 2025 TZ2 | May 2025 TZ3 | Nov 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 50/80 (62%) · 18 | 50/80 (62%) · 19 | 63/80 (79%) · 30 | 66/80 (82%) · 37 |
| Paper 2 | 57/80 (71%) · 24 | 48/80 (60%) · 19 | 58/80 (72%) · 24 | 61/75 (81%) · 30 |
| IA (out of 20) | 18/20 (90%) · 9 | 18/20 (90%) · 9 | 18/20 (90%) · 9 | 18/20 (90%) · 9 |
HL papers
| Component (7 · 4) | May 2025 TZ1 | May 2025 TZ2 | May 2025 TZ3 | Nov 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 65/110 (59%) · 31 | 61/110 (55%) · 28 | 77/110 (70%) · 37 | 83/110 (75%) · 42 |
| Paper 2 | 65/110 (59%) · 33 | 69/110 (63%) · 36 | 83/110 (75%) · 38 | 88/108 (81%) · 46 |
| Paper 3 | 39/55 (71%) · 18 | 41/55 (75%) · 21 | 47/55 (85%) · 27 | 37/55 (67%) · 19 |
| IA (out of 20) | 17/20 (85%) · 9 | 17/20 (85%) · 9 | 17/20 (85%) · 9 | 17/20 (85%) · 9 |
4What these numbers mean for you
- A 7 needed 66–70 out of 100 in TZ1 and TZ2 (SL and HL), and 77 in TZ3. You don't need to finish every last part to get a 7.
- HL Paper 3 is worth chasing. In May 2025 TZ1, 39 out of 55 on Paper 3 was a 7. Its two long questions give method marks all the way through, even after a mistake.
- The IA is the most predictable 20%. A 7 on the IA needed 18/20 at SL and 17/20 at HL in every time zone.
- Most lost marks are avoidable. Examiners report the same losses every session: answers to 2 significant figures, ignoring "give your answer to 2 decimal places", the calculator in the wrong angle mode, wrong signs in the finance solver and conclusions without context. See Maths AI exam traps.
Memory trickTarget mark trick: at SL, Papers 1 and 2 are 40 of the 100 marks each and the IA is 20. With 18/20 on the IA, about 52/80 on each paper gives 70/100.
5Changes for May 2029
Syllabus noteFrom the first exams in May 2029, SL Papers 1 and 2 become 75 marks each, HL Papers 1 and 2 become 100 marks each, and HL Paper 3 becomes 50 marks and 1 hour. Weightings stay the same, technology is still required on every paper, and the exploration keeps 20 marks with four criteria.
Linking questionFor the skills behind these marks, see the GDC guide, the AI write-up templates and the Maths IA guide.
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