Interdisciplinary criteria

What is important to know about the interdisciplinary criteria?

Details to remember

• Interdisciplinary criteria are used to assess interdisciplinary tasks.

Change from the previous guide: Disciplinary criteria are no longer used to inform students' achievement levels in any interdisciplinary criteria.

• The same interdisciplinary criteria rubrics are used across all year levels.

Change from the previous guide: The rubrics are no longer differentiated for MYP year 1, year 3 and year 5. Differentiation occurs through the complexity of the contexts and tasks.

"As students progress from MYP years 1 to 5, they can demonstrate their achievement against these criteria in increasingly complex contexts and tasks." - Interdisciplinary teaching and learning in the MYP

• In the rubrics for Criterion A, it is important to distinguish between the command terms and the achievement level differentiator terms.

Criterion Ai

• Criterion Ai:

  • The command term is analyse.

  • The achievement level differentiator terms are indicated in bold font. The terms "identifying", "outlining", "describing" and "explaining" indicate the depth, thoroughness and specificity of the analysis.

Criterion Aii

• Criterion Aii:

  • The command term is evaluate.

  • The achievement level differentiator terms are indicated in bold font. The terms "stating", "outlining", "describing" and "explaining" indicate the depth, thoroughness and specificity of the evaluation.

Task-specific clarifications

Teachers may provide task-specific clarifications of the rubrics by:

• retaining the command terms and level differentiator terms and making slight changes in other wording to match the task and/or subjects involved

• providing an oral discussion of expectations

• and/or creating a task sheet that further explains task expectations and definitions of terms

Sharing exemplars that demonstrate elements of the command terms and level differentiator terms may further clarify student understanding.

"... specifications and clear expectations [should be developed] at the beginning of each summative assessment process.

When clarifying expectations for MYP assessments, teachers must ensure that they do not alter the standard expected in the published criteria or introduce objectives beyond those developed in the unit." - MYP: From principles into practice