Selecting the Best Fit International School For Your Family #5

Which examinations will your children be working towards?

There are a number of examinations available for international school students, and you will need to understand the options before making any decisions about accepting an overseas employment contract.

I mentioned the IBO previously as being a school wide programme. It offers students at international schools (and many schools that aren't catering to expatriate children are also choosing to offer this curriculum too) a well rounded education that addresses the whole person, not just the part of them sitting the tests.

However many schools adopt bits and pieces of the programme. You may find that an international school offers the Diploma for the upper two years but offers the British IGCSE for Years 10 and 11. IGCSE is an examination based qualification, and the IBO Middle Years Programme has no externally moderated examination assessment, students get a certificate and a record of achievement. Many international schools have a mix and match attitude to the curricula they offer students.

International schools that run national curricula tend to prepare students for the related national exams. American schools overseas run a mixture of state curricula and AP courses.

I am primarily concerned with helping teachers get teaching jobs in international schools. In my last few posts I have listed just a few of the factors you’ll need to think about if you want to get a private education for your children through teaching abroad at an international school.

While I don’t have any children of my own, many of my colleagues who are international teachers do, and they believe that the education their children are receiving abroad is better than what they could get back home, wherever home may be.

Choosing the right International School