MYP History has four assessment criteria, labelled A, B, C and D. Each has a maximum achievement level of 8, giving a combined classroom total of 32 that can be converted into a final subject grade from 1 to 7.
History belongs to the MYP individuals and societies subject group. Its criteria assess knowledge, investigation, communication and critical thinking. Understanding these distinctions helps students interpret rubrics correctly and prevents confusion between classroom assessment and the optional MYP eAssessment.
How many criteria does MYP History have?
The MYP History number of criteria is four. The IB's Individuals and societies subject brief identifies the following equally weighted criteria:
| Criterion | Official title | Main focus |
|---|---|---|
| A | Knowing and understanding | Historical knowledge, concepts, terminology and explanation |
| B | Investigating | Research questions, planning, evidence collection and reflection |
| C | Communicating | Organization, audience, format and source documentation |
| D | Thinking critically | Analysis, source evaluation, perspectives and supported arguments |
These are officially individuals and societies criteria, not criteria created exclusively for History. Schools may offer discrete History courses or integrated humanities courses within the subject group, as explained on the IB's Individuals and societies curriculum page.
The titles remain consistent throughout the MYP, but expectations become more demanding. Older students are expected to work with greater independence, depth and precision than students in earlier years.
What each MYP History criterion assesses
Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
Criterion A assesses accurate historical knowledge and the ability to explain it. Relevant knowledge may include dates, people and events, alongside concepts such as causation, consequence, change, continuity, significance and perspective.
High-level work does not merely list facts. For example, identifying urbanization as a feature of the Industrial Revolution shows knowledge, while explaining how industrial employment encouraged migration and transformed urban society demonstrates understanding.
Criterion B: Investigating
Criterion B concerns the historical inquiry process. Students may formulate or justify a research question, create an action plan, apply research methods, collect relevant evidence and evaluate the effectiveness of their investigation.
A focused question is usually more manageable than a broad topic. “To what extent did food shortages contribute to the February Revolution in Petrograd in 1917?” provides a clearer direction than “What happened during the Russian Revolution?”
Criterion C: Communicating
Criterion C assesses whether ideas are organized and presented appropriately for the required audience and purpose. It can apply to essays, reports, presentations, museum displays, speeches and other teacher-selected formats.
Students must consider structure, historical vocabulary, formatting and source documentation. Accurate knowledge alone will not secure a high level if the response is difficult to follow or uses citations inconsistently.
Criterion D: Thinking critically
Criterion D assesses analysis, interpretation and evaluation. Students may compare causes, examine consequences, evaluate sources, recognize perspectives or construct an evidence-based historical argument.
Critical thinking is not the same as stating an opinion. A strong answer about the causes of the First World War would compare nationalism with competing factors, evaluate their relative importance and reach a supported conclusion.
How criterion levels become an MYP History grade
Each criterion uses a 0-8 achievement scale. Descriptors are normally arranged into the bands 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8; level 0 applies when work does not reach a described standard.
Teachers make a best-fit judgment rather than converting a percentage directly. They compare the work with the relevant strands, select the band that describes it most accurately and then determine the level within that band.
For reporting, teachers establish a final level for each criterion using suitable evidence from the reporting period. Schools should explain how they consider recent, consistent and repeated evidence. The four final levels are then added, giving a maximum of 32.
| Total out of 32 | Final MYP grade |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | 1 |
| 6-9 | 2 |
| 10-14 | 3 |
| 15-18 | 4 |
| 19-23 | 5 |
| 24-27 | 6 |
| 28-32 | 7 |
A total of 0 indicates that assessed work did not reach a criterion descriptor and is handled according to school policy. This classroom conversion must be distinguished from external eAssessment boundaries.
Worked MYP History grading example
Consider these final achievement levels:
| Criterion | Level |
|---|---|
| A: Knowing and understanding | 6 |
| B: Investigating | 5 |
| C: Communicating | 7 |
| D: Thinking critically | 6 |
| Total | 24 out of 32 |
The calculation is 6 + 5 + 7 + 6 = 24, which converts to a grade 6. It should not be described simply as 75 percent because criterion levels represent demonstrated standards rather than collections of equal test points.
A student does not need four level 8s to earn a grade 7. Levels of 8, 7, 7 and 6 total 28, reaching the grade 7 boundary and showing why balanced performance matters.
How MYP History eAssessment differs
The optional MYP History eAssessment is an externally marked, end-of-course on-screen examination. It assesses the same four criteria, but its grading mechanics differ from classroom criterion totals.
The published individuals and societies blueprint organizes the examination into three tasks:
| On-screen task | Criteria represented | Blueprint marks |
|---|---|---|
| Investigating | A and B | 26 |
| Communicating | A and C | 18 |
| Thinking critically | A, C and D | 36 |
| Total | All four criteria | 80 |
An examination session may vary from the blueprint distribution by up to three marks. Although criteria appear in different tasks, the IB's MYP passing criteria guidance states that the four blueprint criteria are equally weighted.
Students must not divide an eAssessment result by 80 and apply the classroom 32-point conversion table. Official examination outcomes are converted to a 1-7 grade using the applicable external assessment process and session boundaries. The IB's grading and awards guidance explains how MYP course results are reported.
Common mistakes and practical improvements
A common mistake is concentrating almost entirely on Criterion A because factual revision feels most familiar. Historical knowledge is essential, but high achievement also requires inquiry, structured communication and evidence-based evaluation.
Students should also avoid:
- Treating a criterion level as an ordinary percentage
- Assuming every assignment assesses all four criteria
- Mechanically averaging every task score
- Confusing classroom totals with eAssessment marks
- Calling a source “biased” without analysing its origin, purpose and limitations
- Ignoring the exact command term or question
For Criterion A, practise explaining relationships with precise evidence. For Criterion B, refine focused questions and evaluate research methods. For Criterion C, plan structure and check the required citation convention. For Criterion D, compare interpretations and support judgments with relevant evidence.
The RevisionDojo MYP History hub supports content review, while the MYP History Questionbank helps students identify weaknesses in knowledge, source analysis or communication. The guide to MYP assessment criteria provides additional context for criterion-related grading.
Conclusion
MYP History has four criteria: A Knowing and understanding, B Investigating, C Communicating, and D Thinking critically. Each contributes up to 8, producing a classroom total out of 32 and a final grade from 1 to 7.
The eAssessment covers the same criteria but uses an externally marked examination and separate grading process. RevisionDojo's MYP History resources and Questionbank can help students combine content revision with focused practice across all four criteria.
