As students who have consistently demonstrated academic excellence, we—the 2025 International Baccalaureate (IB) Physics examinees—are facing an unprecedented and unfair academic challenge. The recent syllabus overhaul in IB Physics introduced significant new content and assessment formats. Unfortunately, our preparation was severely hindered—not due to a lack of effort or commitment, but due to circumstances beyond our control.

Throughout the Diploma Programme, the class tests and internal assessments we received were heavily modeled on the previous syllabus. Key topics introduced in the new syllabus—such as evolution of stars, microstates, space-time diagrams, Compton effect, gold foil experiment among others—were given minimal attention or skipped entirely by our teachers, who often regarded them as minor or non-examinable. As a result, we entered the final examination unfamiliar with major portions of the content being assessed.

While many of us sought to supplement our learning using external resources, the syllabus change rendered most available past papers and study materials outdated. Even though many of us practiced as much as we could, this year's paper seemed otherworldly in front of these study materials and past papers. Only a few third-party platforms, such as Revision Village, updated their materials to reflect the new syllabus. However, access to these resources required costly subscriptions—often upwards of $100—making them inaccessible to many students. What could we possibly do?

This left us with a curriculum we were committed to mastering but had limited tools and guidance to navigate. The exam tested topics that, through no fault of our own, we were not adequately prepared for—despite years of hard work, consistent high performance, and sincere dedication to our studies. Unlike us, previous years' batches always had adequate content outside class and experience of teachers in class to yield good results. Their boundaries last year were 68% for a 7 (TZ2).

The outcome of this examination holds life-changing implications for many of us, particularly those with conditional university offers in competitive fields like engineering and physics.

In light of these exceptional challenges, we respectfully urge the IB to lower the grade boundaries for the 2025 IB Physics examination. This would not only recognize the unfair disadvantage faced by students globally but also uphold the IB’s commitment to educational equity.

Please support this call for fairness in assessment by signing this petition.