Middle / High Curriculum
The curricula at ISPS describes what students need to know and are able to do. A variety of standards and benchmarks has been adopted to build curriculum frameworks in the different subject areas.
Because the standards adopted are not content specific, it has provided us with the flexibility to build our curriculum consistent with the school’s mission and the needs of our various programs such as the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Advanced Placement Programme (AP).
*Use button below to learn more about the Grade 6 - 12 Curriculum.
Standards & Benchmarks
The curriculum designed by the various departments using the respective standards guide classroom practices. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have been used to develop course content and skills in Language Arts and Mathematics.
English Language Arts Standards are designed to prepare students for life outside the classroom. The knowledge and skills they acquire will help them to understand and enjoy a variety of complex literature.
Language Arts Standards
Mathematics follow the Common Core Standards that concentrate on a clear set of math skills and concepts that encourage students to solve real-world problems.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) specify the performance expectations, which combine science or engineering practices with disciplinary ideas and crosscutting concepts.
Science Standards
AERO Social Studies framework provides the foundation for the knowledge, understandings, and skills that students need to know and be able to do across grade levels.
Social Studies Standards
Spanish uses a combination of AERO World language Standards and Benchmarks that has guided the change in the Spanish curriculum to become more innovative and rich in culture. Integrated with these standards is the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages that provides an international standard for describing language learners’ ability in speaking, reading, listening, and writing at different reference levels. It is not language or context specific, but used as a guide for creating reference level descriptors.
The National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) provides the base for our Physical Education Program.
Fine Arts follows the National Core Arts Curriculum that outlines the learning outcomes, for the various art forms, integral to a comprehensive Arts program.
Guided Learning
These standard frameworks guide the learning progression for each grade level, thus ensuring an alignment of content and skills to prepare students to achieve their highest potential towards college and career readiness. Teachers then use the curricula to develop units, using the backward design approach, to identify the essential understandings, knowledge, concepts, and 21st Century skills that are important for students to know and be able to do so they can become active, informed, and engaged participants in daily life.