IB Math Syllabus Changes: 2029 Guide

IB Math Syllabus Changes: What Students Need to Know

The IB is revising both Diploma Programme mathematics courses: Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (AA) and Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (AI), for students first taught under the new courses from August 2027. The revised courses will be assessed for the first time in May 2029.

The current syllabus remains in use for students taking examinations before the 2029 assessment. The final assessment session for the current course is expected to be November 2028, so most students already in the Diploma Programme do not need to change their study materials now.

The IB’s revised subject briefs reorganize the curriculum and assessment model while keeping the two existing pathways, AA and AI.

Key dates and facts

AA and AI remain separate courses

The revision does not remove either mathematics pathway or replace them with one universal IB Math course.

Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches continues to focus more strongly on mathematical structure, algebraic reasoning, functions, calculus and justification. It is the pathway associated with solving problems through symbolic manipulation and mathematical argument, both with and without technology.

Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation continues to emphasize modelling, statistics, probability, data and the use of technology to investigate practical situations. Students are expected to interpret mathematical results in context rather than treating calculation as the final step.

Some features still clearly distinguish the courses in the revised material:

• AA includes a non-technology Paper 1, while technology is used on the other written papers.

• AI requires technology across its written assessment.

• AA places greater emphasis on calculus and analytical reasoning. At HL, the revised course includes content such as complex numbers and Maclaurin series.

• AI places greater emphasis on probability and statistics, with HL content including areas such as matrices and graph theory.

• Both courses retain SL and HL versions, with recommended teaching times of 150 hours for SL and 240 hours for HL.

• HL students continue to complete a third written paper worth 20% of the final grade.

The exact topic boundaries and assessment requirements should be checked against the subject brief used by a student’s school. Students should not combine lists from the current and 2029 syllabuses.

The biggest assessment change is the Mathematical Exploration

The Mathematical Exploration remains compulsory at both SL and HL and continues to represent 20% of the final mathematics grade. Students are also still allocated approximately 30 hours for the exploration and related inquiry work.

However, the assessment criteria have been rebuilt for the 2029 course. The previous criteria - including presentation, mathematical communication, personal engagement, reflection and use of mathematics - are replaced by four criteria based on a mathematical inquiry process:

The four criteria total 20 marks. The same criteria apply across AA and AI and across SL and HL, although the mathematical work itself will naturally reflect the chosen course.

An AA exploration may be closer to proof, functions or calculus. An AI exploration may involve data, modelling or statistical analysis. The revised marking structure gives both courses a shared framework: define the problem, turn it into mathematics, carry out the work, and evaluate what the results mean.

What changes for students?

For students assessed before May 2029, the practical answer is simple: continue using the syllabus and assessment guidance for your registered examination session. A student taking an examination in 2026, 2027 or 2028 should not replace the current Mathematical Exploration criteria with the 2029 criteria.

This matters when using online notes, question banks, sample investigations and past papers. Resources labelled for first assessment in 2029 may describe different topic structures or assessment expectations from those used by current candidates.

Students beginning the revised course should expect their teachers and coordinators to explain the new subject guide, examination format and exploration criteria. Schools will manage the transition, including internal-assessment schedules and the selection of teaching materials.

The revised criteria do not, by themselves, show that IB Math will be harder. There is not yet enough examination evidence or grade-boundary information to make a reliable claim about difficulty. What is clear is that the Mathematical Exploration will be assessed more explicitly as a sequence of mathematical inquiry rather than through the previous five-criterion model.

What students should do now

• Check your first-assessment year before downloading new syllabus documents.

• Use the current guide if your examination is before May 2029.

• Ask your teacher or DP coordinator which course version your class follows.

• For the 2029 cohort, learn the four inquiry stages but follow your school’s complete guidance before planning the exploration.

• Do not assume that an AA resource applies to AI, or that SL and HL materials are interchangeable.

For broader guidance on the two pathways, read RevisionDojo’s IB Math Demystified: AA vs AI guide. It explains how the courses differ in emphasis and how students can organize revision around their specific pathway.

When you are ready to practise, RevisionDojo’s IB Math Questionbank is the most useful feature for keeping practice matched to AA or AI and SL or HL. Students should select the course and syllabus generation that correspond to their examination session rather than treating every IB Math question as interchangeable.

According to the IB’s curriculum materials, the revised courses are a 2029 change, not an immediate change to every current student’s programme.