The Australian Council for Educational Research finds IB PYP and MYP students outperform peers
April 10, 2026
The Australian Council for Educational Research recently conducted a major study and found that students in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) perform better than students in non-International Baccalaureate schools.
Data from the International Schools’ Assessment
The researchers analysed results from the International Schools’ Assessment (ISA) for the 2023–2024 school year. The ISA tests students in Grades 3 to 10 in five areas: mathematical literacy, reading, scientific literacy, narrative writing, and expository writing.
The study drew on data from more than 71,000 students across 254 accredited international schools worldwide, including 123 International Baccalaureate World Schools and 131 non-IB schools.
How IB students performed
The findings showed that PYP and MYP students performed at least as well as, and often significantly better than, their non-IB peers across many subjects and grade levels.
Notably, non-IB students did not outperform IB students in any subject or grade. IB students, especially in reading, performed better than their peers in every grade level.
Performance against global benchmarks
The International Schools’ Assessment uses scales aligned with the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for mathematics, reading, and science, allowing researchers to compare results with established international benchmarks.
The study found that MYP students scored significantly higher than the 2022 PISA benchmarks in all three core domains—mathematics, reading, and science, showing that IB programmes are linked to strong academic outcomes.
Growing global presence of IB programmes
Today, more than 3,600 schools around the world offer the Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme.
These programmes help students develop thinking skills, curiosity, and global awareness alongside strong academic foundations. Some educational platforms, such as Tychr, also support IB students by providing tutoring, mentoring, and academic guidance tailored to the IB curriculum.
As IB programmes continue to expand worldwide, schools, educators, and support platforms like Tychr are helping students make the most of the IB’s internationally recognised approach to education. IB programmes are becoming increasingly popular, and IB students are consistently performing very well on both global and local assessments.