Derived analysis · official-source data
What changed in grade distributions from May 2025 to May 2026?
This comparison joins the same subject, course and level across the May 2025 final bulletin and the May 2026 provisional bulletin. It contains 51 matched rows. The changes below are descriptive, not rankings of subject difficulty.
Analysis published September 24, 2026 · May 2026 remains provisional
Read the comparison carefully
Same rows only: subject, course and level must match in both May sessions.
Percentage points: a move from 10% to 13% is reported as +3.0 pp, not +30%.
Not difficulty: changes can reflect cohort composition, assessment effects or other factors this dataset cannot identify.
Publication status: May 2025 is final; May 2026 is provisional and can be revised by the publisher.
Largest absolute shifts
Grade-7 share change
| Subject / level | May 2025 | May 2026 | Change | Candidates 2025 / 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science · HL | 10.8% | 7.0% | -3.8 pp | 1,947 / 1,942 |
| English A · Literature · SL | 7.1% | 10.2% | +3.1 pp | 5,734 / 5,698 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology · HL | 10.6% | 7.8% | -2.8 pp | 1,091 / 949 |
| Global Politics · SL | 6.8% | 4.3% | -2.5 pp | 4,111 / 4,602 |
| Computer Science · HL | 8.6% | 11.0% | +2.4 pp | 4,751 / 4,536 |
| Spanish B · Language B · SL | 10.0% | 8.2% | -1.8 pp | 22,140 / 22,685 |
| English B · Language B · HL | 13.5% | 11.8% | -1.7 pp | 23,089 / 23,499 |
| Geography · SL | 9.3% | 7.7% | -1.6 pp | 4,528 / 4,724 |
| Music · HL | 6.6% | 8.2% | +1.6 pp | 1,475 / 1,503 |
| English B · Language B · SL | 14.7% | 13.3% | -1.4 pp | 4,648 / 4,997 |
All 51 matched rows
| Subject / level | Mean 2025 | Mean 2026 | Δ mean | Δ grade 7 | Δ grades 4–7 | Candidates 2025 / 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science · HL | 4.8 | 4.7 | -0.1 | -3.8 pp | +0.7 pp | 1,947 / 1,942 |
| English A · Literature · SL | 5.1 | 5.2 | +0.1 | +3.1 pp | -1.8 pp | 5,734 / 5,698 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology · HL | 4.9 | 4.8 | -0.1 | -2.8 pp | +0.8 pp | 1,091 / 949 |
| Global Politics · SL | 4.7 | 4.7 | 0.0 | -2.5 pp | +3.0 pp | 4,111 / 4,602 |
| Computer Science · HL | 4.7 | 4.8 | +0.1 | +2.4 pp | +1.8 pp | 4,751 / 4,536 |
| Spanish B · Language B · SL | 4.9 | 4.8 | -0.1 | -1.8 pp | +0.4 pp | 22,140 / 22,685 |
| English B · Language B · HL | 5.6 | 5.6 | 0.0 | -1.7 pp | +0.6 pp | 23,089 / 23,499 |
| Geography · SL | 4.9 | 4.9 | 0.0 | -1.6 pp | +3.5 pp | 4,528 / 4,724 |
| Music · HL | 4.8 | 4.8 | 0.0 | +1.6 pp | -1.6 pp | 1,475 / 1,503 |
| English B · Language B · SL | 5.5 | 5.4 | -0.1 | -1.4 pp | +0.1 pp | 4,648 / 4,997 |
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science · SL | 3.8 | 3.9 | +0.1 | -1.4 pp | +6.8 pp | 5,987 / 6,313 |
| Business Management · SL | 4.9 | 4.9 | 0.0 | -1.3 pp | -1.2 pp | 13,304 / 14,167 |
| English A · Language and Literature · SL | 4.9 | 5.0 | +0.1 | +1.3 pp | -1.3 pp | 31,216 / 35,868 |
| Physics · HL | 4.9 | 5.0 | +0.1 | +1.3 pp | +0.5 pp | 17,984 / 19,035 |
| Philosophy · HL | 5.0 | 4.9 | -0.1 | -1.2 pp | -2.8 pp | 1,904 / 2,173 |
| Theatre · HL | 5.1 | 5.1 | 0.0 | -1.2 pp | +0.3 pp | 2,518 / 2,381 |
| Chemistry · SL | 4.3 | 4.5 | +0.2 | +1.0 pp | +2.2 pp | 17,646 / 18,475 |
| Business Management · HL | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | -0.9 pp | +0.8 pp | 24,513 / 26,520 |
| English A · Literature · HL | 4.6 | 4.7 | +0.1 | +0.8 pp | 0.0 pp | 30,239 / 28,516 |
| Physics · SL | 4.2 | 4.3 | +0.1 | +0.8 pp | +2.6 pp | 14,442 / 14,461 |
| Economics · HL | 5.2 | 5.2 | 0.0 | +0.7 pp | +0.7 pp | 20,089 / 20,472 |
| Film · HL | 4.4 | 4.3 | -0.1 | -0.7 pp | -3.8 pp | 2,962 / 2,990 |
| Mathematics · Analysis and Approaches · SL | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 | -0.7 pp | -0.3 pp | 42,358 / 42,995 |
| Spanish A · Literature · HL | 4.7 | 4.7 | 0.0 | -0.6 pp | -0.5 pp | 3,943 / 3,765 |
| Spanish B · Language B · HL | 5.2 | 5.2 | 0.0 | +0.6 pp | +0.2 pp | 8,520 / 8,849 |
| Economics · SL | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | -0.5 pp | +0.2 pp | 10,797 / 11,305 |
| Film · SL | 4.2 | 4.1 | -0.1 | -0.5 pp | +0.7 pp | 1,792 / 1,843 |
| Global Politics · HL | 5.1 | 5.0 | -0.1 | +0.5 pp | 0.0 pp | 6,263 / 6,894 |
| Visual Arts · SL | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | +0.5 pp | -4.4 pp | 6,080 / 6,076 |
| Mathematics · Analysis and Approaches · HL | 4.9 | 5.0 | +0.1 | +0.4 pp | +1.4 pp | 24,966 / 26,591 |
| Mathematics · Applications and Interpretation · HL | 4.5 | 4.6 | +0.1 | +0.4 pp | +1.5 pp | 8,527 / 8,500 |
| Music · SL | 4.3 | 4.4 | +0.1 | +0.4 pp | -0.5 pp | 1,551 / 1,455 |
| Philosophy · SL | 4.9 | 4.9 | 0.0 | -0.4 pp | +0.5 pp | 2,745 / 2,934 |
| Psychology · HL | 4.8 | 4.8 | 0.0 | +0.4 pp | -0.4 pp | 15,094 / 15,455 |
| Biology · SL | 4.3 | 4.3 | 0.0 | -0.3 pp | +2.5 pp | 21,939 / 22,064 |
| English A · Language and Literature · HL | 4.8 | 4.8 | 0.0 | -0.3 pp | -0.3 pp | 43,338 / 45,440 |
| Geography · HL | 5.3 | 5.3 | 0.0 | -0.3 pp | -0.3 pp | 5,218 / 5,229 |
| History · SL | 4.7 | 4.8 | +0.1 | -0.3 pp | +1.9 pp | 9,253 / 9,460 |
| Mathematics · Applications and Interpretation · SL | 3.9 | 3.9 | 0.0 | -0.3 pp | +0.1 pp | 42,968 / 44,196 |
| Psychology · SL | 4.4 | 4.5 | +0.1 | -0.3 pp | +3.3 pp | 13,565 / 13,895 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology · SL | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 | -0.3 pp | +3.4 pp | 1,711 / 1,735 |
| Visual Arts · HL | 4.3 | 4.3 | 0.0 | +0.3 pp | +0.7 pp | 10,312 / 9,709 |
| Biology · HL | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 | +0.2 pp | +0.2 pp | 33,102 / 33,585 |
| Spanish A · Literature · SL | 4.4 | 4.3 | -0.1 | -0.2 pp | -0.7 pp | 1,871 / 2,014 |
| Chemistry · HL | 4.8 | 4.9 | +0.1 | +0.1 pp | +3.6 pp | 20,095 / 20,748 |
| Computer Science · SL | 4.3 | 4.4 | +0.1 | -0.1 pp | +3.9 pp | 4,402 / 4,140 |
| Spanish A · Language and Literature · HL | 4.8 | 4.8 | 0.0 | -0.1 pp | +1.4 pp | 5,122 / 5,207 |
| Spanish A · Language and Literature · SL | 4.8 | 4.9 | +0.1 | -0.1 pp | +0.2 pp | 2,741 / 2,870 |
| Theatre · SL | 4.6 | 4.6 | 0.0 | +0.1 pp | +1.5 pp | 1,264 / 1,289 |
| Environmental Systems & Societies · SL | 4.3 | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 pp | +0.7 pp | 22,078 / 20,964 |
| History · HL | 4.4 | 4.5 | +0.1 | 0.0 pp | +3.6 pp | 37,228 / 38,195 |
Methodology & sources
Rows are joined only when subject, course and level match exactly across the two May sessions. No interpolation or model-based estimate is used.
Grade-7 and grades-4-7 percentages use the source dataset's graded-candidate denominator, excluding the N/no-grade category. Candidate counts remain visible to make cohort scale explicit.
The underlying values are transcribed from official statistical bulletins. This analysis adds arithmetic differences and sorting; it does not infer why the distributions changed.