SubjectEnglish
- What your child learns
- Your child learns to write answers for school subjects in Academic English, works on English writing for their grade in Write Lab, and practices reading and speaking.
Global Pathways
Children at international schools, or getting ready to enter or transfer to one, take LAB.CO classes in English, math, science, and social studies that follow their school's curriculum.
Compare the five curricula and find the classes that fit your child's school.
How the curricula differ, and your child's situation
How IB, the American curriculum, AP, IGCSE, and A Level differ
The curriculum your child's school follows shapes what they study as they move up through the grades and how they're graded.
IB, Cambridge, and the American curriculum: three separate systems
IB
The PYP is for ages 3–12, the MYP for ages 11–16, and the DP for ages 16–19.
Cambridge: IGCSE and A Level
Students earn a separate qualification in each subject. IGCSE covers ages 14–16 (usually two years), and A Level follows at ages 16–19.
American curriculum
It runs K–12, from kindergarten through Grade 12. States, school districts, and schools decide which subjects to teach and in what order.
AP: courses chosen within the American curriculum
These are college-level courses students choose in high school. Each course has its own exam, the AP Exam, held every year.
What to check at your child's school for each curriculum
- Curriculum: IB
What to check at your child's school: The programs the school runs (PYP, MYP, DP), its assessment criteria, and the timelines for the MYP Personal Project and the DP's TOK, CAS, and EE.
- Curriculum: American curriculum
What to check at your child's school: The course sequence for each grade, the transcript, and credits. Also plan ahead for the courses your child will choose next semester.
- Curriculum: AP
What to check at your child's school: The AP courses the school offers and the courses your child has to take first. Also check whether the colleges your child will apply to give credit for AP scores.
- Curriculum: IGCSE
What to check at your child's school: The exam board, the syllabus code, and which assessments the subject includes: written exams, coursework, practicals.
- Curriculum: A Level
What to check at your child's school: Whether your child's subject combination fits their intended major, and whether the school uses staged assessment, with exams taken in parts.
Schools and exam boards decide admission and transfers, grade and course placement, and exam eligibility. Each college your child applies to sets its own admission and credit policies.
What to do first, depending on your child's situation
- Your child's situationGetting ready to enter an international school
- What to do first
- Read through the target school's curriculum, grade levels, language of instruction, subjects, and admissions testing information.
- Also check
- Ask the target school directly about grade placement and admission requirements.
- Your child's situationMoving to another school (in Korea or abroad)
- What to do first
- Compare the current school's transcript and class materials with the new school's subjects and assessment calendar to find units your child hasn't covered.
- Also check
- Ask both schools how credits transfer and how assignments and assessments in progress will be handled.
- Your child's situationJust starting classes at a new school
- What to do first
- Collect the results of your child's first quizzes, homework, and graded school assignments, along with teacher comments.
- Also check
- Look up the date and topics of the next assessment in the school's announcements.
- Your child's situationChoosing Honors or AP courses
- What to do first
- Check whether your child has finished the prerequisites and which courses the school offers.
- Also check
- Consider whether the workload is manageable alongside homework and tests in other courses.
- Your child's situationPreparing for research, projects, or competitions
- What to do first
- Separate what school classes can prepare your child for from the work they'll need to produce on their own.
- Also check
- Look at the submission deadlines and set aside prep time early.
School subjects and LAB.CO classes
School materials decide what to study first
During the consultation and diagnostic assessment, we also go over your child's school materials and decide what they'll study.
- Step: Confirm the current curriculum
What happens: We confirm your child's school, grade, curriculum, and the courses they actually take.
- Step: Match what's been covered
What happens: We look at where the school class is and at recent assignments and assessments, then separate units already covered from the ones coming next.
- Step: Find sticking points
What happens: We find out why your child keeps getting answers wrong: the concept, the English wording, or how they read command words.
- Step: Prepare for the nearest assessment first
What happens: Before the next assessment date, we decide what to review, which concepts to shore up, and which units to preview.
- Step: Set the next goal
What happens: Based on learning records and instructor feedback, we decide when your child should start Honors or AP courses or begin research or competition prep.
PYP, MYP, and IB students can also take LABCO IB Support, a one-on-one online class that works from their school materials. See one-on-one classes that use IB school materials
Books used alongside school materials in IB Support classes
PYP and MYP Teacher Guides, IB Rubrics, and Oxford and Cambridge textbooks serve as reference materials.
