Guide to MYP Assessments 
The MYP grading system is often a confusing thing for new parents. Below are answers to a few commonly asked questions regarding grades.
Where are the letters and percentages?
When most of us look back on our school days and remember the grades we got, we are thinking about percentages or letters. We all knew that getting an A was good and getting a D was bad but what exactly was the difference between a B+ and an A? Was it better to get 90% on an easy test or 70% on a hard test? The MYP tries to avoid this confusion by using criterion-related grading.
What grades will my child receive?
Your child will receive two sorts of grades, one being a raw score and one being the overall Level (or grade) for a particular subject.
The overall level in each subject is a number out of seven (with seven being the highest grade). Each of these numbers can be described in the following way.
Level |
Descriptors |
|
1 |
Very poor |
Minimal achievement in terms of the objectives. |
2 |
Poor |
Very limited achievement against all the objectives. The student has difficulty in understanding the required knowledge and skills, and is unable to apply them fully in normal situations, even with support. |
3 |
Mediocre |
Limited achievement against most of the objectives, or clear difficulties in some areas. The student demonstrates a limited understanding of the required knowledge and skills and is only able to apply them fully in normal situations with support. |
4 |
Satisfactory |
A good general understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them effectively in normal situations. This is occasional evidence of the skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. |
5 |
Good |
A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them in a variety of situations. The student generally shows evidence of analysis, synthesis and evaluation where appropriate and occasionally demonstrates originality and insight. |
6 |
Very Good |
A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them in a wide variety of situations. There is consistent evidence of analysis, synthesis and evaluation where appropriate. The student generally demonstrates originality and insight. |
7 |
Excellent |
A consistent and thorough understanding of the required knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them almost faultlessly in a wide variety of situations. There is consistent evidence of analysis, synthesis and evaluation where appropriate. The student consistently demonstrates originality and insight and always produces work of high quality. |
From these descriptions you should realise that it is extremely difficult for a student to achieve a Level Seven, in fact we would expect only about 2 – 5 % of students to be capable of achieving a Level Seven in a particular subject.
What is a raw score?
The 1 to 7 scale is a good way to see the overall attainment of your child in a particular subject but if you want to see more details of what aspect of the course your child is doing well in (or struggling in) we use the raw scores. Each subject has a number of criteria (between 3 and 6). These criteria will be based on the different aspects of their course. A student will be graded on each of these criteria and their grades will be added together to form a raw score, which in turn will be changed into a level between 1 and 7.
For a more detailed explanation of how a particular subject group does this please click on the relevant link below:
When a particular assessment criterion is assessed several times, do you take the highest grade or an average?
We do neither of these. The MYP is based on a criterion-related method of grading. Which means that the final score for any particular criterion should be the grade which best reflects their achievement in that criterion. For example, if a student is assessed against criterion A four times and is awarded the following grades, the student’s final grade for criterion A will be a 6. The student has shown they can consistently perform at that level.
Criterion A |
2 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
Does the MYP have exams?
There are no externally set exams in the MYP. Most subjects will have one criterion (usually called Knowledge) which is particularly suited to being assessed in test conditions. Students will have to sit regular tests in the majority of their subjects. It is not possible for a student to achieve the highest grades on a test by simply memorizing the work they have done in class. In most Knowledge criteria a student will need to apply knowledge to an unfamiliar situation to achieve the highest marks. This means that students must not only learn facts but also have a good understanding of what they have learnt and be able to apply that understanding to a range of situations.
If you are still confused or have questions please email mypcoordinator@lisluanda.com