I read an article recently that highlighted the strength of the IB PYP and MYP program. It highlights that children who are attending IB schools are outperforming other international schools and school systems when it comes to key assessments (ISA). As you know we do the ISA assessments at Peak School and across all ESF Schools. It is interesting to note that the gap between IB Schools and Non IB Schools widens as the children get older (large gap particularly at Year 9 and 10).
It is ironic that IB Schools, Peak School included, who do not promote the practice of teaching to a test are actually outperforming other International Schools and school systems who have developed a reputation for doing just that.
Below is a summary of the article I read;
“Research shows that IB primary- and middle-years students perform better on international assessments than their peers at non-IB schools.
IB Students out-perform their non-IB peers in academic areas, indicating high social and emotional well-being
Singapore May 23, 2012 — A research study completed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), on behalf of the International Baccalaureate® (IB), examined student performance among IB and non-IB students on the International Schools’ Assessment (ISA) and determined that IB Primary Years Program (PYP) and IB Middle Years Program (MYP) students, in most instances performed as well or better than their non-IB peers across all four ISA assessment domains, including math literacy, reading, narrative writing, and expository writing. Particularly strong differences were observed in grade 10, the final year of the IB MYP. The study, conducted with data collected from 2009-11, included 270 schools—117 with the PYP and 86 with the MYP—and 50,714 international students, of which 68% were IB students”.