The new IB Maths syllabus from 2027: what changes, and who it affects
The IB is revising both Diploma Programme maths courses, Mathematics: analysis and approaches (AA) and Mathematics: applications and interpretation (AI). The new courses are first taught in August 2027 and first examined in May 2029. This page sets out what the IB has published so far, what it has not published yet, and what the change means for students, teachers and schools. If your exams are in 2027 or 2028, nothing changes for you.
Last checked against the IB's curriculum update pages and new subject briefs: 4 October 2026 · Pete Bromfield, a former Head of Maths with IB examining experience
- February 2027New AA and AI courses launched (subject guides published)
- August 2027First teaching of the new courses
- May 2029First exams on the new courses
What the IB has confirmed
Everything in this section comes from the IB's own curriculum update pages and the new subject briefs for the two courses (linked under Sources below). We have not added anything the IB has not said.
Dates
- The new AA and AI courses are launched in February 2027, for first teaching in August 2027.
- First assessment is in May 2029.
- The last exams on the current courses are in November 2028.
Content: reduced, nothing new
- No new content has been added to either course. Course content has been reduced, and the IB describes the reductions as targeted, limited and designed to make the courses more coherent.
- Removed from AA: financial applications and bivariate data at SL; at HL, those two plus proof by counterexample and Euler's method.
- Removed from AI: logarithms and approximating areas with the trapezoidal rule at SL; at HL, complex numbers, the vector product, the Poisson distribution, and hypothesis tests for the population mean of a normal distribution, the population mean of a Poisson distribution, and the correlation coefficient.
- The IB describes the AA update as building on the current syllabus, so that teachers, examiners and students can move across without major retraining.
Exam papers: fewer marks, shorter HL Paper 3
| Paper | Current courses (exams to 2028) | New courses (exams from May 2029) |
|---|---|---|
| SL Paper 1 and Paper 2 | 80 marks each | 75 marks each (fewer questions) |
| HL Paper 1 and Paper 2 | 110 marks each | 100 marks each (fewer questions) |
| HL Paper 3 | 1 hour 15 minutes | 1 hour |
The IB gives these changes for both AA and AI. In the new courses, Papers 1 and 2 last 1 hour 30 minutes each at SL (40% each) and 2 hours each at HL (30% each); HL Paper 3 is 20%. AA Paper 1 is the only paper without technology; every other paper in both courses requires it.
Internal assessment (the exploration)
- The IA stays essentially the same task: the mathematical exploration.
- SL and HL will use the same IA criteria. The criteria have been changed to reflect the DP mathematics inquiry process: A Problem specification (4 marks), B Abstraction (6), C Computation (4) and D Interpretation (6), out of 20.
- The IA is still 20% of the grade at both levels, with 30 hours of teaching time.
What has not been published yet
Until the IB publishes the new subject guides, we are not treating any of the following as settled. Check the guides when they appear.
- The detail inside each topic. The subject briefs give the new lettered topics (for example A1 Sequences) and teaching hours, but not what each sub-topic contains. For AI, that includes what stays in bivariate data and inferential statistics now that three hypothesis tests are removed.
- The IA level descriptors for the new criteria A to D. We will use the IB's own wording from the guide, not a summary.
- Specimen papers, the new formula booklet and grade descriptors for the new courses.
- Retakes after November 2028 on the current courses: ask your coordinator.
What it means for students
- Exams in November 2026, May 2027, November 2027 or May 2028: nothing changes. You are taught and examined on the current courses, with the current papers (80 or 110 marks) and the current IA criteria A to E. Everything on this site, including our Prediction Papers and the IA criteria and self-grade sheet, is written for you. Revise by course: AA SL, AA HL, AI SL and AI HL.
- Starting the Diploma in August 2027 (for example, if you are in MYP year 5 or a pre-IB year now): you will be the first students on the new courses, with first exams in May 2029. What you learn in a pre-IB year still counts, because the IB is not adding content. Our pre-IB course covers prior knowledge that both versions assume.
- Choosing between AA and AI, or SL and HL? The broad character of each course is not changing. Our guides to AA vs AI and HL vs SL still apply.
- Past papers stay useful. The courses keep their content apart from the removals, so current past papers remain good practice, but the papers will be shorter from 2029. Skip any question on a topic the new guide removes.
What it means for teachers and schools
- 2027–28 is a two-course year. DP2 students finish the current courses while DP1 starts the new ones, so departments will teach both at once. Plan for two sets of schemes of work, two sets of mock papers and two sets of IA criteria that year.
- Resource planning: the guides arrive in February 2027, six months before first teaching. Most departments decide on textbooks, subscriptions and schemes of work for August 2027 in the spring term, so leave time to check any resource against the published guide rather than a pre-release summary.
- IA timelines: DP1 students starting in August 2027 will write their exploration under the new criteria. Don't launch the IA for that cohort with the A to E rubric.
- Mocks and practice papers: from 2029 the SL papers are 75 marks and the HL papers 100 marks (Paper 3: one hour). Past papers remain useful practice, but mark totals and timings will need adjusting for mocks.
What we will do
We don't have new-course material yet, and we won't claim to until it is built. Here is the plan:
- Now to 2028: keep everything aligned with the current courses, which students are examined on until 2028. That includes the question bank, the schemes of work, Prediction Papers and the IA hub. Our IA planner, AI IA feedback and One-to-one IA Review with Pete all use the current criteria A to E.
- When the IB publishes the new guides (February 2027): retag the question bank to the new syllabus references, and flag or retire questions on removed topics (for example the AI hypothesis tests listed above).
- Before first teaching (August 2027): publish new-course schemes of work for DP1, and add the new IA criteria to our IA guides and tools alongside the current ones. Both will be in use during 2027–28.
- For first exams (May 2029): practice and prediction papers in the new format and mark totals. Started October 2026: ten practice papers at the announced mark totals (SL 75, HL 100; our HL Paper 3 papers are 50 marks in one hour), written by us on content that is not on the IB's removal list, with every answer checked. After a second, independent check they opened on 4 October 2026: see the new-syllabus practice papers (for IB subscribers). They were written to leave out every topic now on the IB's confirmed AA and AI removal lists (checked 4 October 2026).
We will update this page as each step is done, with the date. Teachers can email us to be told when the retagging is finished.
Frequently asked questions
When does the new IB Maths syllabus start?
The IB says the revised Mathematics: analysis and approaches and Mathematics: applications and interpretation courses launch in February 2027, are first taught in August 2027 and are first assessed in May 2029.
Does the new syllabus affect students taking exams in 2027 or 2028?
No. If you started the Diploma Programme before August 2027, you are taught and examined on the current courses (first assessment 2021 guides). The new courses apply to students who start the Diploma in August 2027 or later.
Is new content being added to IB Maths?
The IB says no new content has been added to either course. Content has been reduced, and the reductions are described as targeted and limited. The IB lists the removals: for analysis and approaches, financial applications and bivariate data (SL and HL) plus proof by counterexample and Euler's method (HL); for applications and interpretation, logarithms and the trapezoidal rule (SL) plus complex numbers, the vector product, the Poisson distribution and three hypothesis tests (HL).
Are the IB Maths exam papers changing?
Yes. According to the IB, SL Papers 1 and 2 go from 80 to 75 marks, HL Papers 1 and 2 go from 110 to 100 marks, and HL Paper 3 is cut from 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour.
Is the Maths IA changing?
The task stays the same: a mathematical exploration. The IB says SL and HL will now use the same four criteria, built on the DP mathematics inquiry process: problem specification (4 marks), abstraction (6), computation (4) and interpretation (6). Students examined in 2028 or earlier keep the current criteria A to E.
Does IB Math Revision cover the new courses yet?
Not yet, apart from ten practice papers in the new format on our Prediction Papers page. Everything else on the site is written for the current courses, which students are examined on until 2028. When the IB publishes the new guides we will retag the question bank to the new syllabus and update the schemes of work and IA guidance, and we will say on this page what has been done.
Teaching the current courses in 2026–27? Free teacher classes, schemes of work and the full question bank for all four courses are on the school plans page.
Sitting exams before 2029? Start with the 5-minute starting check to find your weakest topics.
Sources
- International Baccalaureate, Mathematics: analysis and approaches updates
- International Baccalaureate, Mathematics: applications and interpretation updates
- International Baccalaureate, Maths in the DP
- International Baccalaureate, Mathematics: analysis and approaches subject brief (first assessment 2029)
- International Baccalaureate, Mathematics: applications and interpretation subject brief (first assessment 2029)
IB Math Revision is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. The IB's own pages are the authority. If they differ from this summary, follow the IB.