Can an MYP school create its own internal grade boundaries?

If a school reports an official-style MYP grade from 1 to 7, it should base that grade on MYP criterion totals and the published grade-boundary guidelines. It should not quietly raise or lower the cut-offs according to class performance. A school may also be required to report a percentage, letter, or national grade using a locally determined conversion. That separate conversion should be clearly identified as school or jurisdiction policy rather than an IB boundary. Students and families can check the school's published assessment policy to see exactly which scales appear on reports.

Is 24 out of 32 always a grade 6 in internal MYP assessment?

Under the standard MYP grade-boundary guidelines, a criterion levels total of 24 converts to grade 6. This assumes that 24 is the total of four properly determined final criterion levels, not a raw mark from one examination. A school using a local reporting scale may show an additional percentage or letter beside the MYP grade. Official eAssessment results follow subject- and session-specific boundaries, so 24 raw marks in an eAssessment would not automatically mean grade 6. The source and meaning of the 24 therefore need to be checked before applying any boundary.

Why can my MYP grade differ from my test percentage?

A test percentage measures how many available raw marks you earned on that particular test. An MYP criterion level describes how well your work matches a qualitative standard for a specific skill or objective. Teachers may use several tasks to determine the final best-fit level for each criterion, so one percentage does not necessarily control the report grade. The four final criterion levels are then added and converted to the 1--7 scale. This is why treating level 6 out of 8 as automatically equivalent to 75% misrepresents the MYP grading system.

Do MYP teachers average all criterion scores at the end of a term?

MYP assessment is based on the level that best represents demonstrated achievement, not necessarily the arithmetic average of every recorded score. Teachers examine the available evidence for each criterion and apply the school's documented best-fit process. Many schools consider whether later achievement is sustained, but the exact evidence policy should be explained in the school's assessment policy. A low early result may therefore have less influence if stronger work later provides convincing evidence of a higher standard. Teachers must still be able to justify the final level against the published descriptor rather than simply choosing the most favourable score.

Are MYP grade boundaries the same for every subject?

For internal subject reporting on the MYP 1--7 scale, the general conversion from a four-criterion total out of 32 uses the same guideline ranges across subject groups. The actual criteria and descriptors are subject-specific, however, so earning level 6 in Mathematics requires different evidence from earning level 6 in Language and Literature. Criteria also change appropriately across programme years, which means teachers must use the correct year-specific descriptors. Official eAssessment boundaries are different because the IB sets them by subject and examination session. Students should therefore distinguish the stable internal conversion table from the changing external eAssessment boundaries.

What should a student do if an internal MYP grade seems incorrect?

Begin by asking for the four final criterion levels and the evidence used to determine each one. Check that the teacher used the correct subject and programme-year descriptors, then verify that the levels were added accurately and converted through the stated boundary table. If the concern is about a best-fit judgment, ask which parts of the work supported the awarded band and what evidence was missing from the next band. The school's assessment policy should explain any review, moderation, or appeal procedure available to students. A respectful evidence-based discussion is more useful than arguing from effort, class rank, or a percentage that may not correspond to the MYP criteria.

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How MYP Schools Decide Internal Grade Boundaries

MYP Assessment IB Grading

Nathan J.

• 11 Sept 2026•12

How MYP Schools Decide Internal Grade Boundaries

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How MYP Schools Decide Internal Grade Boundaries | RevisionDojo

Back to all posts

How MYP Schools Decide Internal Grade Boundaries

MYP Assessment IB Grading

Nathan J.

• 11 Sept 2026•12

How do MYP schools decide internal grade boundaries? In most cases, they do not invent new cut-offs for the MYP 1--7 scale. Teachers determine a final achievement level for each assessment criterion, add the four levels to obtain a total out of 32, and apply the IB's published grade-boundary guidelines.

Schools mainly decide which evidence supports each criterion level, how teachers standardize judgments, and how MYP grades appear alongside local percentages or letters. This differs from official MYP eAssessment, where the IB establishes subject- and session-specific boundaries after reviewing examination evidence.

Schools judge achievement against criteria

MYP assessment is criterion-related. Student work is compared with published descriptors, not with classmates or a predetermined grade distribution. A school should not lower a boundary because an assessment was difficult for most students or raise it because many students performed well.

For an internal subject grade, the usual process is:

Teachers collect evidence against the subject's assessment criteria.
They make a best-fit judgment for each criterion, normally from 0 to 8.
The four final criterion levels are added to produce a total out of 32.
The IB grade-boundary guidelines convert that total to a grade from 1 to 7.
The school may separately report a required national, percentage, or letter grade.

The IB MYP assessment overview confirms that teachers assess prescribed subject-group objectives using the relevant criteria. IB authorization guidance also states that reported MYP grades should be based on criterion totals and grade-boundary guidelines.

How internal MYP grading works

Assess the four subject-specific criteria

MYP subject groups normally have four criteria, labelled A, B, C, and D. Each has a maximum achievement level of 8, although the names and assessed skills differ by subject.

For example, Sciences and Language and Literature use different objectives and descriptors. Students must therefore use the rubric for their subject and programme year rather than assuming that Criterion B measures the same skill everywhere.

One task does not need to assess all four criteria. An investigation might assess B and C, while another task assesses A and D. The school's assessment plan should provide enough appropriate evidence for every criterion used in the final report.

Apply best-fit judgment

Descriptors are arranged in bands such as 1--2, 3--4, 5--6, and 7--8. Level 0 applies when the work does not reach the first descriptor. Teachers identify the band that best represents the evidence overall and then decide whether the lower or higher level is more accurate.

This best-fit approach is not a mechanical count of rubric statements. A student does not necessarily need to satisfy every word of a descriptor before entering that band, but the teacher must be able to justify the level using evidence from the required strands.

When several tasks assess one criterion, the final level is not automatically their arithmetic mean. Schools establish policies for using the available evidence, often considering current and sustained performance. Effort, attendance, behaviour, and task completion should not be added as though they were academic criterion evidence.

Add the final criterion levels

After selecting one final level for each criterion, the teacher calculates:

T=A+B+C+D

Each criterion ranges from 0 to 8, so the maximum total is 32. The criteria contribute equally to this total. A school should not make Criterion A worth 40% while weighting the other criteria at 20% each when calculating an MYP criterion total.

Convert the total to an MYP grade

Schools reporting the MYP 1--7 scale use these grade-boundary guidelines. They are not percentage bands.

Criterion levels total	MYP grade	General interpretation
1--5	1	Very limited achievement
6--9	2	Limited achievement with significant gaps
10--14	3	Basic understanding and acceptable work
15--18	4	Good-quality work and understanding
19--23	5	Generally high-quality, secure achievement
24--27	6	High-quality work with extensive understanding
28--32	7	Consistently sophisticated achievement

A total of 0 means none of the criteria reached the level 1--2 descriptor. Because the published conversion starts at 1, the school's reporting policy should explain how this exceptional case is recorded.

The ranges are uneven because they summarize qualitative standards rather than equal percentage intervals. RevisionDojo's guide to MYP grade boundaries and the 1--7 scale provides a fuller student explanation.

Worked example

Suppose an Individuals and Societies teacher determines these final levels:

Criterion	Evidence	Final level
A	Sustained performance at level 6	6
B	Work best matched the lower level of the 5--6 band	5
C	Recent analysis met level 8	8
D	Communication generally matched level 5	5

The total is 6 + 5 + 8 + 5 = 24. Because 24 falls within the 24--27 boundary, the internal MYP grade is 6. The teacher has not averaged assignment percentages; the professional judgment occurred when selecting each final criterion level.

If Criterion A had been 5, the total would have been 23 and the resulting grade would have been 5. This does not imply an enormous difference in achievement. It means the totals fall on opposite sides of an overall grade threshold.

What schools decide internally

The conversion table does not remove the need for a clear assessment policy. Schools still decide:

how frequently each criterion is assessed
what constitutes sufficient evidence
how current and sustained performance is considered
how missed assessments are handled
when internal standardization occurs
how borderline judgments are reviewed
how MYP and local grades appear on reports
how students can request clarification

These decisions should be documented and consistently applied. They should not become hidden alterations to the MYP grade boundaries.

Where national regulations require percentages or letters, schools may create a separate local conversion. That conversion is a school or jurisdiction policy, not an official IB statement that an MYP level 6 equals a particular percentage.

Why internal standardization matters

Teachers can interpret qualitative descriptors differently. Internal standardization reduces this variation by having teachers assess common samples, compare their reasoning, and agree on the qualities associated with particular achievement levels.

A sound process includes independent marking, discussion of differences, an agreed judgment with a recorded rationale, and later review of the standard. Samples near significant boundaries deserve particular attention. Standardization does not force classes to have identical grade distributions; it helps ensure that the same level represents comparable achievement across teachers.

The IB outlines a formal related process for MYP ePortfolio assessment and moderation. Students can also review RevisionDojo's explanations of MYP assessment criteria and MYP evaluation and reporting.

Internal grades versus MYP eAssessment boundaries

A classroom grade and an official eAssessment result are not interchangeable.

Feature	Internal subject grade	Official eAssessment result
Assessor	School teachers	IB examiners, or teachers followed by moderation
Evidence	Classroom work assessed against criteria	Raw exam marks or moderated ePortfolio work
Boundary	General MYP conversion guidelines	Subject- and session-specific IB boundary
Quality check	School standardization	External marking or moderation

For on-screen examinations, examiners award raw marks and the IB converts the overall mark to a grade from 1 to 7. For ePortfolios, teachers assess coursework and the IB moderates school judgments against an external standard.

The IB's assessment principles explain that grade awarding considers examiner judgment, candidate work, statistical evidence, and cohort information. Students should therefore never place an eAssessment percentage into the classroom 32-point table. See RevisionDojo's MYP eAssessment guide and the IB's MYP grading and awards requirements for the external process.

Common mistakes to avoid

Automatically averaging every task: This can misrepresent the achievement best supported by the evidence.
Treating levels as percentages: Level 6 out of 8 is not automatically 75%.
Weighting criteria unequally: All four criteria contribute equally to the total.
Ranking students: MYP judgments use descriptors, not class position.
Using eAssessment boundaries internally: External boundaries vary by subject and session.
Calling a local conversion an IB boundary: Schools must label local systems clearly.
Ignoring standardization: A correct conversion table cannot repair inconsistent judgments.

Students should focus on producing evidence that matches the criterion descriptors. RevisionDojo's MYP resources support this through Study Notes, Questionbank practice, Flashcards, and Jojo AI explanations.

Conclusion

MYP schools do not normally invent internal boundaries for the IB 1--7 scale. Teachers use best-fit judgment to determine four criterion levels, total them out of 32, and apply the published conversion guidelines.

Schools must establish fair evidence policies, standardize judgments, explain separate local conversions, and distinguish classroom reporting from official eAssessment. RevisionDojo can support students with criterion-focused Study Notes, Questionbank practice, and feedback from Jojo AI.

Sources and referenced URLs

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