Overview of Assessment in the IB

How is your child assessed? 

Each subject group within the MYP has 4 set assessment areas called criteria (A B C D) which are subject group specific. This helps students to develop the knowledge and skill they need to be successful in each subject group. These skills are often transferable to other subject groups and aspects of learning. Teachers will assess your child according to each of these criteria at least twice across each year.

The MYP assessment process is a criterion-related model. The strengths of this model are:

  • Students know before even attempting the work what needs to be done to reach each level. 
  • It helps teachers to clarify and express their expectations about assignments in a way that students can understand.
  • Students are assessed for what they can do, rather than being ranked against each other.
  • Students receive feedback on their performance based on the criteria level descriptors.

View the criterion for each subject below.

Criteria A

Criteria B

Criteria C

Criteria D

Analysing

Organising

Producing text

Using language

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the language & literature criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Criteria B

Criteria C

Criteria D

Listening

Reading

Speaking

Writing

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the language acquisition criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Criteria B

Criteria C

Criteria D

Knowing & understanding

Investigating

Communicating

Thinking critically

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the individuals & societies criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Criteria B

Criteria C

Criteria D

Knowing & understanding

Inquiring & designing

Processing & evaluating

Reflecting on the impacts of science

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the sciences criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Criteria B

Criteria C

Criteria D

Inquiring & analysing

Developing ideas

Creating the solution

Evaluating

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the design criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Criteria B

Criteria C

Criteria D

Knowing & understanding

Investigating patterns

Communicating

Applying mathematics in real world contexts

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the mathematics criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Criteria B

Criteria C

Criteria D

Knowing & understanding

Planning for performance

Applying & performing

Reflecting & improving performance

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the physical & health education criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Criteria B

Criteria C

Criteria D

Knowing & understanding

Developing skills

Thinking critically

Responding

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the arts criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Analysing

Criteria B

Organising

Criteria C

Producing text

Criteria D

Using language

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the language & literature criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Listening

Criteria B

Reading

Criteria C

Speaking

Criteria D

Writing

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the language acquisition criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Knowing & understanding

Criteria B

Investigating

Criteria C

Communicating

Criteria D

Thinking critically

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the individuals & societies criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Knowing & understanding

Criteria B

Inquiring & designing

Criteria C

Processing & evaluating

Criteria D

Reflecting on the impacts of science

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the sciences criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Inquiring & analysing

Criteria B

Developing ideas

Criteria C

Creating the solution

Criteria D

Evaluating

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the design criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Knowing & understanding

Criteria B

Investigating patterns

Criteria C

Communicating

Criteria D

Applying mathematics in real world contexts

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the mathematics criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Knowing & understanding

Criteria B

Planning for performance

Criteria C

Applying & performing

Criteria D

Reflecting & improving performance

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the physical & health education criterion descriptors

Criteria A

Knowing & understanding

Criteria B

Developing skills

Criteria C

Thinking critically

Criteria D

Responding

Click on the link below to view the full description of the criterion for this subject, for a more detailed overview of what your child is currently achieving or working towards.

View the arts criterion descriptors

How to convert MYP criterion levels into a grade? 

Teachers must gather sufficient evidence from a range of assessment tasks for each strand of each criterion to enable them to make a professional and informed judgement guided by the criteria to determine a student’s achievement level.   Achievement levels for the four criteria (out of a maximum of 8 for each criterion assessed) are added together creating a total number out of 32. Using the table below, this is converted to an MYP Grade from 1-7 with 7 being the highest.  This table describes in broad terms what a student can do at each level but this can only be used as a broad guide.

Sum of all assessed criteria (A, B, C, D, out of 8 each)

MYP grade

Description

28 – 32

7

Produces high-quality, frequently innovative work. Communicates comprehensive, nuanced understanding of concepts and contexts. Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical and creative thinking. Frequently transfers knowledge and skills with independence and expertise in a variety of complex classroom and real-world situations.

24 – 27

6

Produces high-quality, occasionally innovative work. Communicates extensive understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, frequently with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar classroom and real-world situations, often with independence.

19 – 23

5

Produces generally high-quality work. Communicates secure understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, sometimes with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar classroom and real-world situations, and, with support, some unfamiliar real-world situations.

15 – 18

4

Produces good quality work. Communicates basic understanding of most concepts and contexts with few misunderstandings and minor gaps. Often demonstrates basic critical and creative thinking. Uses knowledge and skills with some flexibility in familiar classroom situations, but requires support in unfamiliar situations.

10 – 14

3

Produces work of an acceptable quality. Communicates basic understanding of many concepts and contexts, with occasionally significant misunderstandings or gaps. Begins to demonstrate some basic critical and creative thinking. Is often inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, requiring support even in familiar classroom situations.

6 – 9

2

Produces work of limited quality. Expresses misunderstandings or significant gaps in understanding for many concepts and contexts. Infrequently demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Generally inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, infrequently applying knowledge and skills.

1 – 5

1

Produces work of very limited quality. Conveys many significant misunderstandings or lacks understanding of most concepts and skills. Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Very inflexible, rarely using knowledge or skills.

Sum of all assessed criteria (A, B, C, D, out of 8 each)

MYP grade

28 – 32

7

Description

Produces high-quality, frequently innovative work. Communicates comprehensive, nuanced understanding of concepts and contexts. Consistently demonstrates sophisticated critical and creative thinking. Frequently transfers knowledge and skills with independence and expertise in a variety of complex classroom and real-world situations.

Sum of all assessed criteria (A, B, C, D, out of 8 each)

MYP grade

24 – 27

6

Description

Produces high-quality, occasionally innovative work. Communicates extensive understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, frequently with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar classroom and real-world situations, often with independence.

Sum of all assessed criteria (A, B, C, D, out of 8 each)

MYP grade

19 – 23

5

Description

Produces generally high-quality work. Communicates secure understanding of concepts and contexts. Demonstrates critical and creative thinking, sometimes with sophistication. Uses knowledge and skills in familiar classroom and real-world situations, and, with support, some unfamiliar real-world situations.

Sum of all assessed criteria (A, B, C, D, out of 8 each)

MYP grade

15 – 18

4

Description

Produces good quality work. Communicates basic understanding of most concepts and contexts with few misunderstandings and minor gaps. Often demonstrates basic critical and creative thinking. Uses knowledge and skills with some flexibility in familiar classroom situations, but requires support in unfamiliar situations.

Sum of all assessed criteria (A, B, C, D, out of 8 each)

MYP grade

10 – 14

3

Description

Produces work of an acceptable quality. Communicates basic understanding of many concepts and contexts, with occasionally significant misunderstandings or gaps. Begins to demonstrate some basic critical and creative thinking. Is often inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, requiring support even in familiar classroom situations.

Sum of all assessed criteria (A, B, C, D, out of 8 each)

MYP grade

6 – 9

2

Description

Produces work of limited quality. Expresses misunderstandings or significant gaps in understanding for many concepts and contexts. Infrequently demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Generally inflexible in the use of knowledge and skills, infrequently applying knowledge and skills.

Sum of all assessed criteria (A, B, C, D, out of 8 each)

MYP grade

1 – 5

1

Description

Produces work of very limited quality. Conveys many significant misunderstandings or lacks understanding of most concepts and skills. Very rarely demonstrates critical or creative thinking. Very inflexible, rarely using knowledge or skills.