MYP Mathematics is assessed differently from many other secondary mathematics courses. Rather than a single final exam producing one grade, your work across the programme is judged against a set of published criteria. Understanding what those criteria reward is the most reliable way to improve how you approach mathematics tasks. This guide explains how criteria-based assessment works in MYP Maths, what each criterion measures, and how to use teacher feedback to strengthen your work.

A note on terminology. This guide uses the current IB MYP Mathematics assessment criteria: Criterion A (Knowing and understanding), Criterion B (Investigating patterns), Criterion C (Communicating) and Criterion D (Applying mathematics in real-life contexts). Each criterion is scored from 0 to 8, and the four criterion totals combine into a final 1-7 subject grade. The criterion titles stay the same from MYP year 1 to year 5; the level descriptors rise each year. Confirm the exact wording of the level descriptors for your year level against your school's published rubrics and the current IB MYP Mathematics subject guide, because schools implement tasks and reporting in their own ways.

What Criteria-Based Assessment Means

In a criteria-based system, your work is compared to a published standard rather than to the performance of other students. Each piece of work is matched against level descriptors that describe what a student at each level can do. Two students in the same class can both reach the same level on a criterion if both meet the standard described there. This is different from ranking students against one another.

The practical consequence is that your grade reflects what you can demonstrate, not where you sit relative to your peers. It also means that improvement is about meeting higher level descriptors, not about beating classmates. When you read feedback on a task, the question to ask is not "how did I compare?" but "which descriptor did my work match, and what would the next level up require?"

What You Are Being Assessed On

Across the four criteria, MYP Maths assesses a broad picture of mathematical competence, not just the ability to produce correct answers. The criteria together reward knowing the mathematics, recognising and investigating patterns, communicating your reasoning clearly, and applying mathematics to real situations. A student who can calculate accurately but cannot explain their reasoning or apply it in context will reach some criteria but not others. The strongest work shows strength across all four.

Because the criteria are separate, a single task may assess more than one of them. A short test might focus on Criterion A; an investigation might focus on B and C; a real-world modelling task might focus on C and D. Your school will set different tasks across the year so that each criterion is assessed more than once.

Criterion A: Knowing and Understanding

Criterion A measures your knowledge of the mathematics of the course and your ability to use it accurately. This is the criterion most like a traditional mathematics test: it asks whether you know the concepts, definitions, methods and procedures, and whether you can apply them correctly to questions that are recognisable from the course.

To do well on Criterion A, you need to:

Know the concepts and vocabulary of the course and use them correctly in context.
Use appropriate mathematical methods to solve problems that draw on course content.
Work accurately, with correct notation, units where relevant, and few calculation errors.
Move between representations where the task requires it, for example between a graph, a table and an equation.

Criterion A is built through consistent practice and through understanding rather than memorisation. A student who memorises a method can handle questions that look like the ones they have practised; a student who understands the method can handle it when it is framed differently.

Criterion B: Investigating Patterns

Criterion B rewards mathematical reasoning of a different kind. Rather than applying a known method, you are asked to look for a pattern, form a conjecture, and test or justify it. This is where MYP Maths asks you to behave like a mathematician: to notice something, to ask whether it is always true, and to explain why.

Strong work on Criterion B typically involves:

Identifying a pattern in a set of cases or results.
Stating a conjecture that generalises what you have noticed.
Testing the conjecture against further cases.
Justifying the result, at a level appropriate to your year, with reasoning that connects to the mathematics.
Explaining the thinking clearly, so a reader can follow how you reached your conclusion.

Investigation tasks can feel unfamiliar because there is not always a single right answer to find at the start. The skill being assessed is the reasoning process itself: noticing, conjecturing, testing and justifying. With practice, this becomes a habit of mind rather than a mystery.

Criterion C: Communicating

Criterion C measures how clearly you communicate mathematical thinking. This is not about writing more, but about writing so that a reader can follow your reasoning. Communication is assessed through the use of appropriate notation, clear diagrams and tables where helpful, logical structure, and correct mathematical language.

Strong communication in MYP Maths looks like:

Correct notation, including symbols, units and conventions appropriate to the topic.
Clearly labelled diagrams, tables and graphs where they help the reader.
Logical structure, so each step follows from the last and the reader does not have to guess how you got there.
Mathematical language used precisely, with terms used in their correct sense.
Work that is readable, not cramped or scattered across the page in a way that hides the reasoning.

Many students lose marks on Criterion C not because their mathematics is wrong but because their reasoning is hard to follow. Setting out work clearly is a skill that improves with deliberate attention.

Criterion D: Applying Mathematics in Real-Life Contexts

Criterion D asks you to take mathematics out of the textbook and use it in a real-world situation. This typically involves interpreting a context, identifying the relevant mathematics, modelling the situation, working with the model, and interpreting the result in context, including judging whether it is reasonable.

Strong work on Criterion D involves:

Identifying the relevant mathematics in a context that may not announce it.
Setting up a model that represents the situation in mathematical terms.
Working with the model accurately to produce a result.
Interpreting the result in context, including units and what it actually means.
Judging the reasonableness and limits of the model, where the task asks for it.

Criterion D rewards students who can connect mathematics to the world. A correct calculation that is never interpreted in context will only partially meet the criterion; the interpretation is where much of the credit is earned.

Understanding vs Application

One of the most useful distinctions in MYP Maths is between understanding (Criterion A) and application (Criterion D). They are related but not the same. Understanding is about knowing the mathematics and using it in recognisable settings. Application is about taking that mathematics into a context that is not pre-structured for you, identifying what is relevant, and interpreting the result.

A student can be strong on Criterion A and weaker on Criterion D, or vice versa. The two criteria are assessed separately because they reward different things. If you want a balanced profile, you need to practise both: routine problems for understanding, and contextual problems for application.

Mathematical Reasoning Across the Criteria

Mathematical reasoning, the ability to build a logical argument from one step to the next, runs through several criteria. It appears in Criterion B when you justify a conjecture, in Criterion C when you communicate a solution, and in Criterion D when you explain why a model is appropriate. Reasoning is not a separate criterion; it is a habit that strengthens work across several of them.

Building reasoning means getting used to asking "why" at each step: why does this method apply, why is this result reasonable, why does this conclusion follow. Students who develop this habit tend to find that their work across B, C and D improves together.

How to Use Teacher Feedback

Because MYP assessment is criteria-based, teacher feedback is most useful when it tells you which criterion and which level descriptor your work met, and what the next level up requires. When you receive feedback:

Identify which criterion was assessed. Feedback that names the criterion is more actionable than a general comment.
Find the level descriptor you met. Compare your work to the published rubric and identify the level that matches.
Read the next level up. The difference between your current level and the next one is the gap to close.
Ask for specifics if feedback is general. "Improve your communication" is less useful than "label your axes and state the units on your graph."
Keep a record. A short note of which criteria cost you marks, and why, turns feedback into a pattern you can address.

Feedback is most valuable when you act on it. The students who improve fastest are usually the ones who treat feedback as a description of the next step, not as a judgement.

How to Review a Completed Assessment

Before you submit a task, review it against the criteria it will be assessed on. A simple checklist:

Have I answered the question that was actually asked? Many marks are lost to answering a slightly different question.
Is my reasoning clear enough to follow? A reader should be able to move from start to finish without guessing.
Is my notation correct and consistent? Symbols, units and conventions should be used properly.
Have I interpreted results in context where the task asks for it? A bare number is often incomplete.
Have I justified my conclusions where reasoning is required? Conjectures and interpretations need support.
Have I checked calculations for accuracy? Errors that change a conclusion are costly.

This kind of self-review is a skill, and it improves with practice. The more often you review your own work against the criteria before submitting, the more naturally you will produce work that meets them.

Common Mistakes in MYP Maths Assessment

Treating all tasks the same. A test, an investigation and a real-world task assess different criteria; approach each with the relevant criteria in mind.
Showing only final answers. Without working, communication and reasoning marks cannot be awarded even if the answer is right.
Ignoring context. In Criterion D tasks, a correct calculation that is never interpreted in context earns only part of the credit.
Weak justification in investigations. Noticing a pattern is the start; justifying it is what earns the higher levels of Criterion B.
Poor notation and labelling. Missing units, unlabelled axes and inconsistent symbols cost communication marks.
Not reading feedback. Feedback that is filed away without action does not improve the next task.

How MYP Maths Tutoring Can Help

Tutoring helps most when it targets your specific gaps rather than repeating the course generically. A tutor can help you understand the criteria, identify which level descriptors your work currently meets, build the understanding behind Criterion A, develop the reasoning that Criterion B rewards, improve the communication that Criterion C measures, and practise the application that Criterion D demands. If you would like focused support, see our MYP Maths tutoring in Hong Kong.

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MYP Maths Assessment Criteria FAQs

What are the four MYP Maths criteria? Criterion A (Knowing and understanding), Criterion B (Investigating patterns), Criterion C (Communicating) and Criterion D (Applying mathematics in real-life contexts). Each is scored 0-8 and the four combine into a 1-7 grade.

Do the criteria change between year levels? The criterion titles stay the same from MYP 1 to MYP 5; the level descriptors rise. A level 6 in year 1 represents a different standard from a level 6 in year 5.

Is there a fixed weighting between the criteria? Each criterion is scored out of 8 and the four totals combine into the subject grade. How schools weight tasks within a reporting period varies; check your school's assessment policy rather than assuming a universal split.

What is the difference between Criterion A and Criterion D? Criterion A rewards knowing and using course mathematics in recognisable settings; Criterion D rewards applying mathematics to real-life contexts, including modelling and interpretation.

How is MYP Maths different from IGCSE or HKDSE maths? MYP Maths is criteria-based and assessed across tasks over time, rather than by a single final exam. It rewards investigation, communication and application alongside knowledge. See our Standard vs Extended guide for how pathways work.

Can a tutor help with criteria-based assessment? Yes. A tutor can help you understand what each criterion rewards and produce work that meets higher level descriptors. See our MYP Maths tutoring in Hong Kong.

For more, see our Standard vs Extended guide and problem-solving guide. Browse all MYP Maths resources, MYP resources or MYP tutoring in Hong Kong.

MYP Maths Assessment Criteria Guide