IAA School Profile

2021- 2022 School profile for University purposes
International Academy Amman

Director: Dr. Hana Kanan

Head of Secondary: Mr. Martin Thompson

DP Coordinator: Mr. Justin Hayward

College Counselor: Ms. Aya Abdel Hadi

The School Community
IAA is proud to introduce its twelfth graduating class of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma students. IAA was founded in 2004 as an English medium, independent, non-profit, co-educational day school in Amman, Jordan. IAA is governed by an independent Board of Directors and is the hallmark institution working under the umbrella of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and is the sister school to King’s Academy. The school caters for Pre KG to Grade 12 and currently is home to over 1174 students, of whom 558 are in the Secondary School. There are 74 students in Grade 12 and as a sign of our strong philosophy of inclusivity at IAA only a small number not taking the full IB Diploma. Many of our students have benefitted from the strong academic and financial scholarship programme. IAA is fortunate to have state of the art resources offering excellent IT, Arts, Design Technology and Science facilities. The teaching staff is truly international being drawn from many different countries and the student body is predominantly Jordanian (89.35%) although many students have dual nationalities and have resided overseas.

Our Philosophy
The Vision and Mission statements of IAA complement those of the IB as we aim to provide an international education in an Arabic setting. We are excited by the opportunity to help shape graduates who have a love for learning, are critical thinkers, have an awareness of their greater community and the role they can play in promoting international understanding and acceptance. We are justifiably proud of our CAS (Creativity, Activity and Service) programme which all Grade 11 and 12 students must complete and which is recognized for its diversity and quality. Our Profile of a Graduate embodies a student who is fully prepared to confidently navigate their higher education and career and workplace thereafter and who will actively contribute to building a society that we all aspire to see in our world. 

Curriculum, Accreditation and Authorisation
In 2007 IAA gained authorization from the IB to offer the Middle Years Programme (Grades 6 to 10) and in 2009 gained authorization to offer the Diploma Programme (Grades 11 and 12). All Grade 12 students will gain ‘Equivalency’ with the local Jordanian Tawjihi, as well as the IAA High School Diploma. Our Primary school follows the UK national curriculum for Literacy and the Australian curriculum for Mathematics. IAA is a fully accredited member of the Council for International Schools (CIS) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the International Schools Service (ISS) and the Middle East International Baccalaureate Association (MEIBA). We further validate our curriculum by taking the ISA tests annually for Grades 3 to 9. Since beginning the exercise our performance has consistently shown that our students perform above the world average and our record continues to show improvement. 

Grading at IAA
Grades 9 to 10:

MYP students take up to 12 subjects (minimum 9) for the MYP that are marked on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). The core subjects are English, Arabic, Mathematics, Science (either Integrated or as three Discrete Sciences), Religion, Individuals and Societies, and students choose either one or two options from the Arts, Design, Physical and Health CEEB Code: 681068 Education or Spanish. In addition, students are also graded on their Personal Project (a 4,000 word report on an engagement activity of their choice) and the Inter-Disciplinary Examination which tests a students’ ability to synthesise knowledge and skills from different curriculum.

Grades 11 to 12:

Diploma Students: take 6 subjects (3 at higher level and 3 at standard level, in rare cases some students will take 4 at higher level and 2 at standard level) that are marked on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest) and complete the Diploma core (CAS, Extended Essay and TOK) as well as taking Religion. Diploma Course Students: take 6 subjects (either 3 at higher level and 3 at standard level or 2 at higher level and 4 at standard level) that are marked on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest) as well as taking Religion. Diploma Course students must also complete CAS. GPA: scores are given on the transcript but are based on an average of the IB grading system of 1 to 7. High Honours are awarded for a GPA of 6.51 or more and Honours for a GPA of 6.0 or more.

Our Graduates
Our graduates are highly motivated and look forward to the challenge of higher education in countries all over the world. It is our expectation that nearly 100% will pursue 4 year colleges or universities. Students are applying to the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East.

Class Rank
IAA does not use Class Rank. 

Student Activities
IAA students are given many leadership opportunities. They may contribute to student literary productions such as the school newspaper and yearbook, be active in student governance groups, as well as participate in the Model United Nations (we are particularly proud of our student organized MUN conference and the awards our own students gain in national and overseas conferences), theatrical, choral, band and dance productions. We also have Robotics and F1 science clubs. Our overseas trips programme that concentrates on action, internationalism and intercultural understanding is also very strong in the school. Volunteering within the community is required and the programme is very well supported, authentic and high profile for our students. We also have a well-established work shadowing and internship programme. Opportunities are available to participate in a wide range of interscholastic sports and our sports teams (both boys and girls) have a very successful record in competition amongst the local Amman Private Schools and in International competitions (mainly of schools in the Middle East). On our current enrolment we have numerous students who hold Jordanian national records in Athletics and Swimming and who represent their country in a number of other disciplines. 

Student Achievements in the Diploma Programme
We are very proud of the results IAA students have achieved in our first eight years. Very few students in the world receive more than 40 points and we have an above average number of students attaining this honour. Last year 36% of our Diploma students gained 40 points or more. We have also had students score the full 45 points in three of our graduating classes, a feat which is only achieved by around 0.4% of all IB students worldwide. In the last 5 years, on four occasions our Diploma students have a 100% pass rate compared to the world average of 79% and our average Diploma points grade has exceeded the world average for the past eight years and now stands at 37 points. What we are most proud of is the proportion of our students who receive over 30 points, which is considerably greater than the world average. We are also proud of the fact that our students, in a short amount of time, have gained access to many of the top 20 universities in the world.

COVID-19 and IAA 
IAA has worked incredibly hard to overcome the challenges of the pandemic and to ensure that teaching and learning remains broad and rigorous. Since March 2020 the majority of our teaching and learning has been online with Grades 6 to 10 having 4 weeks, Grade 11 having 6 weeks and Grade 12 having 7 weeks of face to face learning in that period to date (October 2020). We have not shortened the school day and we have not reduced the number of subjects that are taught. We have also adapted our delivery in order to continue with all units of instruction. Assessments that have to be done online have been adapted to ensure authenticity with much more open ended and project based tasks. Grade 12 students have been allowed back to campus to complete their practical work in order to complete the requirements of their Internal Assessments (particularly in the Sciences). We are proud that IAA has gained the reputation of a school that has continued to fully serve its students in Jordan and believe that our graduating class of 2021 is not significantly disadvantaged by the circumstances that have befallen them.