IB CS Case Study
The case study is a pre-seen scenario that the IB publishes each year. You research it across your final year and then answer questions on it in Paper 1, Section B. Under the 2027 syllabus it is sat by both SL and HL, and it is worth real marks: 12 at SL and 24 at HL.
This is not a topic you can revise the night before. The booklet is short, but the marks reward independent research and balanced analysis built up over months. These pages give you a structured way to do that for the current scenario.
Table of Contents
- What the case study is
- How the yearly cycle works
- This year’s edition
- Past editions
- How it is examined
What the case study is
Each year the IB releases a booklet describing a real-world scenario in computing: a current development, an emerging technology, or an ethical issue. The booklet introduces an organisation, the technology it is weighing up, and a list of challenges it faces. It deliberately gives no definitions and no answers. Your job is to research the scenario, learn the underlying computer science, and be ready to argue about it.
In the exam you bring a clean copy of the booklet, with no notes or annotations, so your research has to be in your head. Roughly half of Section B is short, point-marked questions, and half is a longer extended response marked against a level descriptor. The extended response is where most of the marks are won or lost.
The case study sits inside Theme A, most often A4 (machine learning), and connects to the rest of the course: the exam “examines concepts of computer science based on the case study,” so every technical idea in the booklet should be tied back to something you have learned.
How the yearly cycle works
The timing catches people out, so it is worth stating plainly. A new booklet is released about 12 months before the May session (about 18 months before November). You receive it near the end of your first year, research it over the summer and through your final year, and sit it in your final exams.
| Stage | When | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Release | Around the middle of the year before your exam | The IB publishes the booklet for your session. You get a clean, pre-seen copy. |
| Across the course | Your final year | You research the scenario alongside Theme A, building notes on each technique, challenge, and ethical issue. |
| Exam | May or November of your exam year | You answer Paper 1 Section B on the case study, from a clean copy with no annotations. |
Because of this cycle, only one case study is ever live for a given cohort. The previous cohort sits its exam before the next booklet is released, so two case studies are never examined at the same time. Each year has its own edition below. Once an edition’s exam has passed it stays available as practice, because the exam technique (balanced analysis, accurate terminology, a justified conclusion, evidence of research) does not change from year to year even though the topic does.
This year’s edition
2027: Generative AI for image creation is the current case study, for May and November 2027 exams. Scenario: Visionary Studios, a design company choosing between generative AI models to create images. Start there.
Past editions
There are no earlier editions on this site yet. The 2027 case study is the first under the new (first assessment 2027) syllabus, where the case study moved from a standalone HL-only Paper 3 to Paper 1 Section B for both SL and HL. Case studies from 2026 and earlier used the older format and a different mark scheme, so they are not reproduced here. As each new edition is released, the previous one will remain on this site as exam-technique practice.
How it is examined
| SL | HL | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Paper 1, Section B (sat with Section A) | Paper 1, Section B (sat with Section A) |
| Marks | 12 | 24 |
| Challenges to prepare | 2 | 4 |
| Short-response parts | About 2 | About 4 |
| Extended response | 6 marks, tops at Competent | 12 marks, reaches Proficient |
The short parts use application command terms (Identify, Outline, Describe). The extended response uses synthesis command terms (Discuss, Evaluate, Justify, To what extent) and is marked holistically against a level descriptor, not by counting points. The exam prep page breaks down exactly how to score in each.
EduCS.me is an independent teaching resource. It is currently aligned with the IB CS (2027) syllabus but is not affiliated with the IB. Case study content here is a study aid: always work from your own clean copy of the official booklet.