The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP)
AIS is an IB MYP Candidate School. The IB MYP is designed for students aged 11 to 16 (approximately grades 6 through 10). It provides a framework of academic challenge and life skills, delivered through eight subject groups, integrated through global contexts and key concepts. The MYP aims to encourage students to make practical connections between their studies and the real world, preparing them for success in further study and in life.
Key components of the MYP IB include:
- Interdisciplinary learning: Encouraging students to see the connections between subjects.
- Community service: Making a connection between what is learned in the classroom and the community.
- Personal Project: Completed in the final year of the programme, allowing students to demonstrate the skills they've developed throughout.
- Assessment: MYP assessment standards are consistent around the world. In order to assess student work, teachers match the student's performance against pre-specified assessment criteria based on the objectives of each subject group.
The MYP is intended to prepare students for the further challenges of the IB Diploma Programme and the Career-related Programme.
The MYP curriculum
The MYP curriculum framework comprises eight subject groups, providing a broad and balanced education for early adolescents.
The MYP requires at least 50 hours of teaching time for each subject group in each year of the programme. In the final two years of the programme, carefully defined subject group flexibility allows students to meet local requirements and personal learning goals.
Read about the MYP Curriculum.
MYP Community Project
The MYP community project focuses on service learning through community action in MYP Year 3. It encourages students to explore their rights and responsibilities and work towards creating a positive impact in their communities.
Austin International School MYP Community Project Handbook
The MYP Assessment and Exams
The IB uses both internal and optional external assessment (eAssessment) in the MYP.
School-based assessment
MYP assessment focuses on tasks created and marked by classroom teachers who are well-equipped to make judgments about student achievement. These tasks are rigorous and embrace a variety of assessment strategies.
MYP teachers assess the prescribed subject-group objectives using the assessment criteria for each subject group in each year of the programme.
External assessment
In the final year of the programme, each MYP student must develop a personal project independently, which the IB externally validates. Producing a truly personal and creative piece of work over an extended period stands as a summative review of their ability to conduct independent work.
At the same time, schools can register for optional external assessment (eAssessment) in all other elements of the programme. It offers students the chance to earn a formal, internationally recognized certificate if they meet the success criteria.
Once a school registers for eAssessment in the MYP, students can participate in any of these two types of examinations:
ePortfolios of coursework, including a compulsory ePortfolio for the personal project.
On-screen examinations, with each exam lasting between one hour and 45 minutes and two hours.
Read more about the MYP assessment.