MYP Grading Explained: Criteria A–D for Parents

Every MYP subject is assessed against four criteria, labelled A through D, each scored on its own 0–8 scale (in 1-mark bands the IB calls "achievement levels"). The four scores are added together (out of 32) and converted to the familiar 1–7 MYP gradeusing grade-boundary tables the IB publishes each year. This is why a single report card line — say, "Mathematics: 5" — is really a summary of four separate judgments about different skills, not one test score.

The exact criterion names and descriptors vary slightly by subject group, but in MYP Mathematics they generally map to:

• Criterion A — Knowing and understanding. Selecting and applying the right mathematical facts, concepts, and techniques to solve a problem.
• Criterion B — Investigating patterns. Looking for patterns, forming conjectures, and testing them — the "noticing and generalising" skill, not just calculation.
• Criterion C — Communicating. Using correct mathematical notation, organised working, and clear explanations so someone else could follow the reasoning.
• Criterion D — Applying mathematics in real-life contexts. Taking a real-world situation, modelling it mathematically, and justifying whether the answer actually makes sense in context.

Criteria A–C are usually visible in normal classwork and tests. Criterion D is the one parents hear about least, because it shows up in open-ended, inquiry-style tasks rather than conventional problem sets — and the strongest Criterion D work includes a genuine justification step (sub-strand D.iv): not just an answer, but a written case for why that answer is reasonable given the real-world constraints of the problem.

It's also why Math Compass's worksheets include a separate Enrichment tier alongside the standard Starter → Developing → Challenge progression — Enrichment sheets are built as Criterion D-style inquiry tasks specifically, including at least one justification problem, rather than just harder versions of the same question type.

For the full MYP subject sequence across Grades 6–10, see the MYP curriculum scope & sequence.