Assessment Guide: Comparative Study (Current Guide, to 2026)

Note on guide transition. This guide covers the current IB Visual Arts guide (first assessment 2016; last exams November 2026), for which the Comparative Study is a live component. A new guide begins first teaching 2025 and first assessment 2027; under the new guide the externally assessed comparative task is reframed (as the Connections Study at SL / Artist Project at HL) and the requirements change. If you are assessed in 2027 or later, confirm the current requirements with your teacher and the official guide. A brief note on the change appears at the end of this guide.

Note on marks. Grade boundaries are set by the IB for each examination session, so any mark ranges or band descriptions here are approximate and unofficial, of