About IB PYP and IB MYP:

What is the International Baccalaureate Organization?
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) is an independent nonprofit
educational foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland. It offers to schools three
programmes: the Diploma Programme in the final two years of the secondary school, the Middle Years Programme for students aged 11 to 16, and the Primary Years Programme for students aged 3 to 12. Please visit the IBO web site at www.ibo.org for extensive information about the organization and its programmes.

How many schools offer IB programmes?
As of September 2008,more than 1,400 schools in 129 countries offer one or more of the academic programmes of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).

How is the Primary Years Programme  different from other elementary school programmes?
The Primary Years Programme (PYP) provides an educational framework based upon what is currently known about how young children learn. It draws on the best practices in elementary school instruction.

The PYP requires all teachers in the school to plan units of instruction and lessons collaboratively around six important themes. The collaboration facilitates a carefully thought-out and sequential development of skills, knowledge and attitudes, while the organizing themes provide both students and teachers a rich and inviting learning environment in which they can explore. In brief, the six organizing themes are: Who weare; Where we are we in place and time; How we express ourselves; How the world works; How we organize ourselves; and How we share the planet.

In the PYP, students are taught to understand that learning is about asking questions and looking for answers, which in turn may generate new, and perhaps more complex questions in need of answers. As teachers work with students through this program of guided inquiry, they also help students understand what their relationship and responsibility is towards what they are learning. In the PYP character-building shares a prominent place alongside learning.

Can students transfer easily from one Primary Years Programme  school to another?
Keeping in mind that each school determines its own admission and placement
standards, the essential elements of the PYP will be the same from school to school.

However, since the IBO does not prescribe the curriculum to be taught, that may vary from school to school. This should not create a problem, however, because students are studying an approach to learning.

Do Primary Years Programme students have to take IB examinations?
There are no IB examinations in the PYP. All student assessment is organized and
conducted by the teachers in the school.

What is the Middle Years Programme?
The Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational framework that requires students to study in eight subjects (literature taught in the student’s native language, foreign language, social studies, science, math, arts, physical education and technology) in each of the five years the programme lasts. Local, state, provincial, or national curriculum requirements are the basis of each subject's content. Teachers present their curriculum focused through the MYP’s Areas of Interaction, so that instructional strategies change, rather than the subject content. The model embodies three fundamental concepts:
communication (valuing language acquisition in at least two languages); holistic learning (finding the connections across and within the subjects and grade levels); and internationalism (a growing understanding of a student’s own culture coupled with an understanding and appreciation of other cultures).

What grades does the Middle Years Programem encompass?
In most schools in  the world, the IB Middle Years Programme is a five- year
programme that begins with grade 6 and continues through grade 10.

Does the Middle Years Programme lead directly to the Diploma Programme?
The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an excellent preparation for the Diploma
Programme. Many of the concepts, programme elements, and the underlying philosophy found in the MYP are consistent with those found in the Diploma Programme.

Nevertheless, the MYP is not a prerequisite. Indeed, schools may not offer both the MYP and Diploma Programmes.

Further, because schools and school districts establish their own enrollment criteria for participating in the Diploma Programme, a student’s prior involvement with the MYP is not a guarantee of entry into the Diploma Programme.

Can students transfer easily from one Middle Years Programme School to another?
In terms of continuity, certain aspects of the MYP, such as the areas of interaction, assessment criteria, and the fundamental concepts of the program will be the same from school to school worldwide. However, since the IBO does not prescribe the content, the actual subject material may vary.

Do Middle Years Programme students have to take IB examinations?
There are no IB examinations in the Middle Years Programme. Instead, classroom teachers design their own examinations, using a common set of IB-designed assessment criteria to mark the examinations. The classroom teachers’ marks are reviewed by a team of specially trained MYP teachers from around the world to ensure that the assessment criteria are applied equally to the work of all MYP students.

Do Middle Years Programme  students receive any acknowledgement for their work?
Depending upon the way the school has implemented its MYP, students who complete the programme may receive an IBO certificate of achievement. While the certificate is not considered a diploma or a school-leaving certificate, it is evidence of a student’s good preparation for further studies, such as the IB Diploma or other rigorous programs. It represents significant achievement and takes into account academic as well as nonacademic aspects, such as community service and the creation of a personal project.