International Baccalaureate Program

The curriculum of the MYP covers the same curricula objectives of corresponding high school courses. To achieve IB goals the delivery of instruction is focused through Approaches to Learning and Global Contexts. The Global Contexts include Identities & Relationships, Orientation in Time & Space, Personal & Cultural Expression, Scientific & Technical Innovation, Globalization & Sustainability, and Fairness & Development. After successfully completing both the ninth and tenth grade MYP coursework, 30 hours of community service at each level, and the personal project, students will receive the IB-MYP Completion designation. 

MYP students in grades 9 and 10 are required to take the MYP-designated courses in all of these subjects: English, Mathematics, Sciences, Social Studies, Wellness Education, and World Languages. While students must continue with the same World Language that was studied in their middle school experience, students may elect to take an introductory level of that same language in the freshman year. 

Technology/Arts Elective Requirement

All MYP students must also take two semesters of either a technology elective or an art elective, or one semester of a technology elective and one semester of an art elective.

Personal Project

The Personal Project allows the student to demonstrate an understanding of the Global Contexts and their relationship to subjects and the world in a student’s selected interest area. Students apply their personal abilities/skills and knowledge in completing the project. Students complete this project independently with the guidance of a faculty member and/or mentor. All grade 10 MYP students are required to complete a Personal Project.

Participation in MYP honors classes will also provide the student with an intensive experience designed to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge for the rigors of the IB Diploma Program in grades 11 and 12. At the end of grade 10, students may choose to participate in the IB Diploma Program.

Students that participated in MYP in the Middle School are candidates to enroll in, and continue with, this curricular option.  

Students who satisfactorily complete all MYP requirements in grades 9 and 10 are eligible to receive the IB-MYP Completion designation.

Only schools authorized by the International Baccalaureate are eligible to teach the curriculum and to register candidates for examination. IB diploma candidates must be students in good standing at an authorized member school. 2,790 schools in over 145 countries worldwide offer the Diploma Program.

IB graduates gain admission to selective colleges and universities throughout the world. Students with strong IB examination results may also receive advanced standing of course credit, depending upon the policy of the institution they are attending. In addition, formal agreements exist between the IB and many ministries of education. The complete recognition policies of North American colleges and universities are currently available electronically in university details, as are country-specific guidelines for the USA and Canada. Information on the recognition of the IB by universities and ministries throughout the world is also available in IBO’s publication series, University Recognition Policies/University Policy Index, which is updated regularly. Please visit ibo.org for additional information on college and university recognition.

The program offers special features in addition to the traditional strengths of a liberal arts curriculum.

• Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is a required interdisciplinary course intended to stimulate critical reflection upon the knowledge and experience gained inside and outside the classroom. TOK challenges students to question the bases of knowledge, to be aware of subjective and ideological biases, and to develop a personal mode of thought based on analysis of evidence expressed in rational argument. The key element in the IBO’s educational philosophy, Theory of Knowledge, seeks to develop a coherent approach to learning which transcends and unifies the academic subjects and encourages appreciation of other cultural perspectives.
• Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) is a fundamental part of the diploma curriculum. The CAS requirement takes seriously the importance of life outside the world of scholarship, providing a refreshing counterbalance to the academic self-absorption some may feel within a demanding school program. Participation in creative endeavors, sports, and community service activities encourages young people to share their energies and special talents while developing awareness, concern, and the ability to work cooperatively with others. The goal of educating the whole person and fostering a more compassionate citizenry comes alive in an immediate way when students reach beyond themselves and their books.
• Diploma candidates are required to undertake original research and write a 4,000-word Extended Essay. This project offers the opportunity to investigate a topic of special interest and acquaints students with the kind of independent research and writing skills expected at universities. 

Responsibility for all academic judgments about the quality of candidates’ work rests with more than 3500 examiners worldwide, led by chief examiners with international authority. A variety of assessment methods are used to value both the content and the process of academic achievement and to take into account different learning styles and cultural patterns.

Conventional external examination techniques are chosen from a range of options: oral and written, long and short responses, data-based questions, essays, and multiple-choice questions. These are complemented by internal assessment of coursework by the teachers responsible for evaluating students over the two-year period. With classroom teachers and international examiners working in partnership, the emphasis is on ensuring that students have ample opportunity to demonstrate what they are able to communicate.

The grading system used by the International Baccalaureate Organization is criterion-referenced. Each student’s performance is measured against well-defined levels of achievement consistent from one examination session to the next. Grades are not simply awarded “on a curve” to a certain percentage of candidates but rather reflect attainment of knowledge and skills relative to set standards equally applied to all schools. Validity, reliability, and fairness are watchwords of the IBO’s international assessment strategy.

Students in IB Diploma courses are required to take the IB exams at the conclusion of those courses. Exams are administered in May and are paid for by students and their parents/guardians. Registration for exams occurs in September, and exam fees are due in early November. Students may access their IB final grades, on a secure IB website, on July 6. (The IB Coordinator provides students with passwords to access their grades.) Grades are awarded on a scale of 1-7. These grades are a combination of scores on the exams and scores on the internally assessed assignments that are moderated by IB examiners.

The IB annually assesses over 150,000 students. The award of the IB Diploma requires students to meet defined standards and conditions and to earn a minimum of 24 points out of a total possible 45 points; and to satisfactorily complete the Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge, and Creativity, Activity, Service requirements. A complete listing of IB’s regulations for the award of the IB Diploma is on IB Diploma Program pages of the Upper St. Clair School District’s website. 

International curriculum planners ensure that the IB’s educational aims are embodied in the structure and content of the program itself. The Diploma Program requirements are displayed in the shape of a circle with six academic areas surrounding the IB core. Subjects are studied concurrently, and students are exposed to the two great traditions of learning: the humanities and the sciences.

Diploma candidates are required to select one subject from each of the six subject groups. At least three and not more than four are taken at higher level (HL), the others at standard level (SL). HL courses represent 240 teaching hours; SL courses cover 150 hours. By arranging work in this fashion, students are able to explore some subjects in depth and some more broadly over the two-year period; this is a deliberate compromise between the early specialization preferred in some national systems and breadth found in others.

Distribution requirements ensure that the science-oriented student is challenged to learn a world language and that the natural linguist becomes familiar with laboratory procedures. While overall balance is maintained, flexibility in choosing higher-level concentrations allows the student to pursue areas of personal interest and to meet special requirements for university entrance.

Diploma candidates must select one subject from each of the six subject groups, 3 HL subjects and 3 SL subjects, or 4 HLs and 2 SLs.

Exception: In the place of the group 6 visual arts course, a student may substitute a second course from groups 1-5.

Students who wish to take IB courses, but do not wish to pursue the IB Diploma, may do so. All students taking IB classes are required to complete all internal and external assessments and take the IB exams for those classes. The International Baccalaureate awards certificates to students who achieve sufficient point totals on the assessments and exams.
 

The cost of taking the IB exams is the responsibility of students and their parents/guardians.

The IB Core consists of three areas of interdisciplinary study that are required for all IB Diploma candidates. These are also available for students that are not full diploma.

900 IB THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE (11TH GRADE)
903 IB THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE (12TH GRADE)
The Theory of Knowledge course encourages critical thinking about knowledge itself, to try to help young people make sense of what they encounter. Its core content is questions like these: What counts as knowledge? How does it grow? What are its limits? Who owns knowledge? What is the value of knowledge? What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?

Theory of Knowledge activities and discussions aim to help students discover and express their views on knowledge questions. The course encourages students to share ideas with others and to listen to and learn from what others think. In this process students’ thinking and their understanding of knowledge as a human construction are shaped, enriched, and deepened. Connections may be made between knowledge encountered in different subjects and distinctions between different kinds of knowledge may be clarified.

The discussion-based course is designed for highly motivated, inquisitive, self-directed students. 

Students will complete a written assignment the summer between Junior and Senior year.

The course is scheduled second semester junior year and first semester senior year.

Watch a brief video about the Theory of Knowledge 

906 IB THE EXTENDED ESSAY (11TH GRADE)
909 IB THE EXTENDED ESSAY (12TH GRADE)
The extended essay is defined as an in-depth study of a limited topic within a subject. Its purpose is to provide candidates with an opportunity to engage in independent research. Emphasis is placed on the process of engaging in personal research, on the communication of ideas and information in a logical and coherent manner, and on the overall presentation of the extended essay in compliance with these guidelines. Extended Essays are submitted to IB for evaluation by IB examiners who make their assessments based on IB Extended Essay assessment rubrics.

912 IB CREATIVITY, ACTIVITY, SERVICE (11TH GRADE) 
915 IB CREATIVITY, ACTIVITY, SERVICE (12TH GRADE)
Participation in the Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) Program encourages students to be involved in sports, artistic pursuits, and community service work. An international education must go well beyond the provision of information and is involved in the development of attitudes and values that transcend barriers of race, class, religion, gender, or politics. Creativity and activity need to play an equal part with service in any CAS Program. CAS should challenge and extend the individual student, develop a spirit of discovery and self-reliance, encourage new skills and interests, and inspire a sense of responsibility towards all members of the community. Through documentation of their activities and their written reflections, students demonstrate personal growth in the seven CAS outcomes.