Why are we having so many regional magnets when the Watkins Mills and Seneca Valley programs were failures?

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what is the point of all these new magnets. Did they not learn from these failures?

[Anonymous]

For those of us who are not familiar with these programs, can you.give more details about what makes them failures from your perspective?

[Anonymous]

probably locations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of us who are not familiar with these programs, can you.give more details about what makes them failures from your perspective?

Watkins Mills has an IB program. School rating is a 3.5. Farms 81.8%.

Richard Montgomery has an IB program. School rating 8. Farms 39.3%

You see anything here? Having the IB program there did nothing for Watkins Mills.

Now they are proposing more such nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Add Kennedy to a failing or failed IB program

[Anonymous]

Countywide, about 60% of students in class of 2024 that took at least one IB exams got a score of 4 or higher.

At Watkins Mill this percentage was 57% in 2024 so comparable to the rest of the county.

At Seneca Valley it was 73% which is better than the county average.

These are not the IB programs that sound like failures to me.
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2025/251002%20Information%20ANNUAL%20HS%20Principals%20AP%20IB%20Exam%20Participation%20Performance%20Class%20of%202024.pdf

[Anonymous]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gx-MTLg2eLocoS2trhJyX1Lv0wpOL2WD/view?usp=sharing

Someone shared this on DCUM and I bookmarked it. Looks like BCC and Rockville IB programs perform well if using RM as the reference. Watkins Mill, Einstein, Seneca Valley and Springbrook are kinda away from the other three IB programs.

[Anonymous]

Many students don't want IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gx-MTLg2eLocoS2trhJyX1Lv0wpOL2WD/view?usp=sharing

Someone shared this on DCUM and I bookmarked it. Looks like BCC and Rockville IB programs perform well if using RM as the reference. Watkins Mill, Einstein, Seneca Valley and Springbrook are kinda away from the other three IB programs.

Considering the demographics of Seneca Valley, their performance seems impressive.

[Anonymous]

The MCPS position is that they were failures because RMIB was still around as a countywide program, and if there are no countywide programs then the regional ones will succeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Countywide, about 60% of students in class of 2024 that took at least one IB exams got a score of 4 or higher.

At Watkins Mill this percentage was 57% in 2024 so comparable to the rest of the county.

At Seneca Valley it was 73% which is better than the county average.

These are not the IB programs that sound like failures to me.
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2025/251002%20Information%20ANNUAL%20HS%20Principals%20AP%20IB%20Exam%20Participation%20Performance%20Class%20of%202024.pdf

Thanks for this, PP. It sounds like those programs were successful, if we assume (as I do) that the goal was to provide a rigorous pathway for motivated students. They were never meant to change the trajectory or demographics of an entire school, but rather to ensure that college-bound kids have access to equitable resources regardless of location or background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many students don't want IB.

This. We are at a non-RM school that offers the IB and my kid much prefers taking AP classes. Zero interest in IB.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info.

HOWEVER, i cannot find the 73% of the Seneca Valley.

The page shows 52.3% took one or more IB exam; 37.8% took one or more IB exam of a score of 4 or high

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Countywide, about 60% of students in class of 2024 that took at least one IB exams got a score of 4 or higher.

At Watkins Mill this percentage was 57% in 2024 so comparable to the rest of the county.

At Seneca Valley it was 73% which is better than the county average.

These are not the IB programs that sound like failures to me.
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2025/251002%20Information%20ANNUAL%20HS%20Principals%20AP%20IB%20Exam%20Participation%20Performance%20Class%20of%202024.pdf

Thanks for this, PP. It sounds like those programs were successful, if we assume (as I do) that the goal was to provide a rigorous pathway for motivated students. They were never meant to change the trajectory or demographics of an entire school, but rather to ensure that college-bound kids have access to equitable resources regardless of location or background.

[Anonymous]

What are differences between IB & AP? Is AP better than IB? I know that AP classes earn college credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many students don't want IB.

+1 My kid was at BCC and we went to several meetings about it before deciding against it. It’s very foreign language based which wasn’t a strength for my kid and it seemed like it would be difficult to get all the IB classes alongside all of the other requirements. I don’t see how it would a draw for a large amount of students worth the PITA of getting to another school for.