You are almost certainly expecting the answer to be somewhere around 90%. It is not.
Higher Level: you need an average of 68% for a 7.
Standard Level: you need an average of 65% for a 7.
These figures are based on official IBO grade boundary data from 2016 to 2023 (excluding the COVID years, where grading was adjusted). There is not yet enough data from the current IB Physics syllabus (first examined 2025) to calculate reliable averages, but the boundaries have been remarkably consistent year on year. These numbers are a solid guide.
Getting 65% means you can still get 35% of the paper wrong and achieve a 7.
That reframe matters. IB Physics is hard, but the target is not perfection. It is accurate, efficient exam technique on the questions that matter most.
How many students actually get a 7?
The statistics here are worth knowing.
Around 22% of HL students achieve a 7. That is roughly 1 in 5. The higher rate at HL compared to SL reflects the self-selecting nature of the cohort: students who choose HL Physics are typically aiming for engineering, medicine, or the sciences, and tend to invest serious study time from the start.
Around 10% of SL students achieve a 7. That is 1 in 10. Lower, but still very achievable with the right preparation.
Are HL students actually more likely to get a 7 than SL students?
The 22% vs 10% split understates how different the picture is at the two levels. When you look at mean grade data across all IB subjects since 2016, a clear pattern emerges.
HL Physics students have historically achieved a mean grade that sits at or above the IB-wide average across all subjects. That means if you are studying HL Physics, you are statistically more likely to achieve a higher mean grade in it than in chemistry or biology HL. Not what most people expect from a subject with a reputation for being one of the hardest.
SL Physics tells the opposite story. The mean grade for SL Physics consistently falls below the IB-wide average. More SL students cluster around grades 4 and 5 than at 7.
I think I know why, and it is not about ability.
HL students tend to hit difficulty early and respond to it. The problem-solving demands of topics like A.1 Kinematics and A.2 Forces and Momentum become obvious within the first weeks of the course, and students who need a strong HL Physics grade for their university application have a powerful reason to adapt their approach quickly. They build exam technique and problem-solving instincts early, and those compound over two years.
SL students often arrive at Physics already stretched across their HL subjects. The same difficult early topics land with less dedicated time to work through them, and a mindset of “Physics is hard” can set in before the skills have a chance to develop. The grade boundaries for SL are actually slightly lower than HL, but you have to build the problem-solving skills to get there.
The solution is the same for both levels: develop the right skills deliberately, and start as early as you can.
Why the percentage shifts each year
Grade boundaries are not fixed. The IBO adjusts them each session based on how difficult that year’s papers were. If the exams were harder than usual, the 7 boundary may drop slightly. If they were more straightforward, it may rise.
What stays consistent is the range. Over the past seven years, the 7 boundary for HL Physics has sat between 62% and 73%. For SL it has been between 58% and 70%. Preparing to score around 70% gives you a comfortable buffer against a tougher paper.
For the complete year-by-year tables and an explanation of exactly how the IBO sets boundaries, read the IB Physics grade boundaries guide.
What actually moves the needle
Three things have the biggest impact on whether you hit this threshold.
Your Scientific Investigation. The IA is worth 20% of your final grade. That is a significant chunk you can maximise before the exams even start. Students who treat the IA seriously often find it shifts their overall grade by a full boundary.
Exam technique. A large proportion of marks lost in IB Physics are not lost because students do not know the physics. They are lost because of weak command word responses, missing units, or not showing enough working. Practising with real mark schemes closes this gap quickly.
Topic prioritisation. Spending equal time on every topic is not efficient. Some topics carry far more marks than others. For the full breakdown of which topics to prioritise at SL and HL, read the IB Physics topic priorities guide.
Get the GradePod Exam Pack for £39 →
Sally Weatherly is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, author of 4 IB Physics books (two hit #1 on Amazon), and has been teaching IB Physics since 2004. GradePod has helped 30,000+ students since 2020.