Regional IB programs - four years later

[Anonymous]

MCPS turned a few high schools into "regional IB" programs four years ago. I remember that magnet admissions season and there was a LOT of angst over kids who applied to RM being instead seats at these regionals instead. And I remember an awful lot of unpleasant assertions that these schools / students would not perform at the same level as RM. It was ugly. Sometime really ugly.

So I am wondering how it has gone for the first cohort? I've heard about several admissions to T20 universities at our regional IB. More than there had been before. How about at your regional? Do you think it all worked out or do you think it was all for show and that MCPS failed?

[Anonymous]

The results at Kennedy for the first cohort have been abysmal.

Kia Davis, who has been in charge of the Regional IB program at Kennedy for the entire time, has been an unmitigated disaster. (Note: Her counterpart Erin Radebe who is responsible for the MYP is lovely and generally great though)

One of the reasons they brought in the new principal, Vickie Adamson, is because of her experience with IB as an Assistant Principal at BCC. I have no idea what, if any changes she is making to Kennedy's Regional IB Program and how it's run since she arrived this school year.

[Anonymous]

I don't know how to compare to years past. I know we have acceptances to Michigan and JHU.

[Anonymous]

Among the schools that offer both AP and IB, about 2/3 of the students choose AP and 1/3 IB. You can argue the students vote with their feet and follow the more beneficial program. For the exams, IB has a higher passing rate, possibly indicating that it attracts stronger students.

It seems redundant to offer both, not sure the IB diploma is that much more of an indicator of rigorous high school coursework and they are essentially equivalent. For people that like to have choices, it’s probably worth keeping it.

The regional IB programs feel somewhat of a second rate choice, the very strong students don’t need it, and they seem to have a very persistent marketing pitch.

In conclusion, meh.

[Anonymous]

The only kid I know that picked the regional program (Kennedy) dropped after 2 years and had a very poor review of the program. Will be interesting to see the IB passage rates from this cohort. I think it’s been a rocky start but that’s probably to be expected especially because I think that for that first cohort they took the stronger kids into RMIB and put the more borderline kids in the regional ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only kid I know that picked the regional program (Kennedy) dropped after 2 years and had a very poor review of the program. Will be interesting to see the IB passage rates from this cohort. I think it’s been a rocky start but that’s probably to be expected especially because I think that for that first cohort they took the stronger kids into RMIB and put the more borderline kids in the regional ones.

Spoiler alert: They won't be great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only kid I know that picked the regional program (Kennedy) dropped after 2 years and had a very poor review of the program. Will be interesting to see the IB passage rates from this cohort. I think it’s been a rocky start but that’s probably to be expected especially because I think that for that first cohort they took the stronger kids into RMIB and put the more borderline kids in the regional ones.

Spoiler alert: They won't be great.

Hopkins and uMich not good enough? What schools are then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only kid I know that picked the regional program (Kennedy) dropped after 2 years and had a very poor review of the program. Will be interesting to see the IB passage rates from this cohort. I think it’s been a rocky start but that’s probably to be expected especially because I think that for that first cohort they took the stronger kids into RMIB and put the more borderline kids in the regional ones.

Spoiler alert: They won't be great.

Hopkins and uMich not good enough? What schools are then?

The poster asked about IB passage rates, not college acceptances. Those might be correlated but they are distinct things.

[Anonymous]

IB programs aren't getting these kids into top universities. Best way to compare high schools is IB diploma passage rates (which we won't know until after graduation).

As far as I can tell MCPS has never published this data. Does anyone know where to find it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only kid I know that picked the regional program (Kennedy) dropped after 2 years and had a very poor review of the program. Will be interesting to see the IB passage rates from this cohort. I think it’s been a rocky start but that’s probably to be expected especially because I think that for that first cohort they took the stronger kids into RMIB and put the more borderline kids in the regional ones.

Spoiler alert: They won't be great.

Hopkins and uMich not good enough? What schools are then?

The poster asked about IB passage rates, not college acceptances. Those might be correlated but they are distinct things.

Nobody knows what the IB passage rates are (i.e., what percent of students who are in the IB Diploma Programme got the IB Diploma), because the students won't get (or not get) the IB Diploma until this summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only kid I know that picked the regional program (Kennedy) dropped after 2 years and had a very poor review of the program. Will be interesting to see the IB passage rates from this cohort. I think it’s been a rocky start but that’s probably to be expected especially because I think that for that first cohort they took the stronger kids into RMIB and put the more borderline kids in the regional ones.

Spoiler alert: They won't be great.

Hopkins and uMich not good enough? What schools are then?

The poster asked about IB passage rates, not college acceptances. Those might be correlated but they are distinct things.

I guarantee you they will not post the IB Diploma pass rates. They will be bellow 30% for some schools. From this point of view, the IB program is a failure, hard to justify its continuation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IB programs aren't getting these kids into top universities. Best way to compare high schools is IB diploma passage rates (which we won't know until after graduation).

As far as I can tell MCPS has never published this data. Does anyone know where to find it?

Yeah for sure they are not getting kids in top universities, for a supposedly advanced and rigorous program it seems to be short of the promises made in the sales pitch that included gems like you have a three times higher chance of getting into the Ivy League, which I think it’s downright dishonest.

You can find the exam pass rates by school here but not the diploma pass rates, that’s a closely guarded secret. But it’s easy to figure out it’s not great for most regional programs.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2023/230615_Prin%20Memo_2022%20AP%20IB%20Exam%20Participation%20and%20Performance.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only kid I know that picked the regional program (Kennedy) dropped after 2 years and had a very poor review of the program. Will be interesting to see the IB passage rates from this cohort. I think it’s been a rocky start but that’s probably to be expected especially because I think that for that first cohort they took the stronger kids into RMIB and put the more borderline kids in the regional ones.

Spoiler alert: They won't be great.

Hopkins and uMich not good enough? What schools are then?

The poster asked about IB passage rates, not college acceptances. Those might be correlated but they are distinct things.

I guarantee you they will not post the IB Diploma pass rates. They will be bellow 30% for some schools. From this point of view, the IB program is a failure, hard to justify its continuation.

I think they'll publish the pass rate, and hopefully disaggregate by which kids were in the criteria-based cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only kid I know that picked the regional program (Kennedy) dropped after 2 years and had a very poor review of the program. Will be interesting to see the IB passage rates from this cohort. I think it’s been a rocky start but that’s probably to be expected especially because I think that for that first cohort they took the stronger kids into RMIB and put the more borderline kids in the regional ones.

Spoiler alert: They won't be great.

Hopkins and uMich not good enough? What schools are then?

The poster asked about IB passage rates, not college acceptances. Those might be correlated but they are distinct things.

I guarantee you they will not post the IB Diploma pass rates. They will be bellow 30% for some schools. From this point of view, the IB program is a failure, hard to justify its continuation.

Please explain how you know that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB programs aren't getting these kids into top universities. Best way to compare high schools is IB diploma passage rates (which we won't know until after graduation).

As far as I can tell MCPS has never published this data. Does anyone know where to find it?

Yeah for sure they are not getting kids in top universities, for a supposedly advanced and rigorous program it seems to be short of the promises made in the sales pitch that included gems like you have a three times higher chance of getting into the Ivy League, which I think it’s downright dishonest.

You can find the exam pass rates by school here but not the diploma pass rates, that’s a closely guarded secret. But it’s easy to figure out it’s not great for most regional programs.

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2023/230615_Prin%20Memo_2022%20AP%20IB%20Exam%20Participation%20and%20Performance.pdf

Oh, it's the poster who is oddly invested in hating on the IB DP.