IB: Part 1 Rant; Part 2 Cliff Notes
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Anonymous
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Long but this might be useful for others trying to make heads or tails of the convoluted IB system.
First my rant: It's taken me multiple info night sessions over two years at my kid's school, plus reading online & working to decipher the school course catalog a fair amount, and only this evening do I finally feel like I think I have a handle on it. I frankly have no clue how parents who are not fluent in English and/or are much more strapped for time than I am as a cushy office worker, manage to decipher what their kid needs to do to make IB work and the various nuances to the program. I suppose they just trust that the kid is getting good advice from their counselor and cross their fingers? It's a ridiculously complex program and really hard to actually understand. And I THINK i'm almost there but who knows... 
OK rant done. Part 2: My Understanding now after all that, based on what I've heard. Would really welcome any active IB parents to chime in and let me know if i'm STILL not getting certain parts. We're at Robinson FWIW since I think some schools do at least TOK differently so below may vary for other HSs... - TOK elective is only junior year. Yes, there is time in this class to work on the extended essay; some amount of crunch time outside of class will also be needed though toward the end of preparing the draft. They do other philosophy and how/why type discussion topics otherwise. Beyond the extended essay there is also a TOK essay that is P/F (so lower stakes) and done sr year mainly outside of school. - 3 HLs required and 3 SL courses required (some SLs are just 1 year and they count too; virtually all HLs are multi-year commitments) - Extended Essay: this gets submitted as a draft in spring jr year; edits come back in June; final version due just after school starts in the Fall. - CAS: This consists of multiple 100 word (so a paragraph) "reflections" on ECs a typical IB kid would regularly be doing as part of their regular HS activities. The activities themselves don't need to be on top of what a kid does; they most likely can be gleaned from what a kid is doing already and then you just have to write these paragraphs about those activities throughout the two years. Sounds kind of like busy work but not a big extra lift. - Lang if started in 7th: For 10th you do Lang 4, then IB1, then IB2SL or IB2HL - Math if did Alg 2 in 9th: Kids heading into STEM majors need to go the IB Analysis route; kids heading the non-STEM route can do IB applications. The Applications route has an AP Stats "break" for jr year if you're on that Alg 2 in 9th route then picks up again Sr. year when you pick if you're doing the part 2 at a HL or SL. Ending with SL is most common for Applications. - There is no English SL option (  )
- You only need to take 1 IB elective - it's either a 1 year SL course sr year or it's a 2 year course that run over both jr & sr years. The HL Elective can count as one of the HLs you need. - Kids do NOT need to take a Physics class to graduate (since they have to do Bio in 9th and Chem in 10th I had it in my head Physics was also required for 11th or 12th but apparently no - can be any science) - Any class that's a two-year duration - the IB test gets taken sr year; for SL courses that are only 1 year - the test gets taken in the year the class is taken (even if that's jr year) - At Robinson, AP Calc, AP Stats and AP Gov are the only APs offered. - To be marked as "most rigorous" for college applications you must be a diploma candidate (again, this may be Robinson-specific) - Not sure if this is true but supposedly: unless you're headed for a STEM major, there's no "must do's" within the IB requirement tracks for Diploma candidates to be positioned well for selective colleges (i.e. not frowned on to do an elective or language as HL instead of math/science HLs). |
Anonymous
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My DD earned the IB diploma and honestly, it’s a miracle because I could never make heads or tails of what she needed to do and I’m not exactly a slouch. Her IB advisor mapped out her schedule for the last two years and they still somehow messed it all up and they had to do some last-minute schedule juggling to make sure she got the classes she needed.
It’s an unnecessarily complex program. |
Anonymous
| No one gives a damn. Sorry. |
Anonymous
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I had two earn the IB diploma - not at Robinson but another FCPS high school.
Neither one took Physics. Both did this science sequence: Honors Bio, IB Chem, IB Bio, IB Environmental Science. They both were admitted RD to W&M and waitlisted to UVA. DC1's IB elective was 2 years of IB Business (or something with a similar name.) It counted as the Econ Personal Finance class so he did not have to take that course. DC2's elective was some IB Sports Health course. I believe it actually was considered another science course. He took Econ Personal Finance over the summer. I'm pretty sure they both used their elective as one of their HL courses. IB English was definitely HL and I think the history course was as well, but I didn't pay that much attention to which ones counted as HL vs SL. My older one did TOK during the day his senior year. They offered an after school option for those who were in band or chorus (or wanted another elective.). When my younger one went through, he ended up taking the 1st half of TOK junior year and the second half senior year - senior year it was after school even though he had time during the day so he ended up with a free period. I'm a very hands off parent and they both did everything on their own in consultation with the IB coordinator and their counselor. |
Anonymous
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IB teacher here and you have a good understanding of it. I’m impressed you typed all that out. It’s very confusing. Yes, I find the CAS reflections to also be busywork. Actually, I find a lot of it to be overly confusing and not necessary so my kids are at an AP school.
But yours will be fine at Robinson. They will get a good education. Don’t try to understand it all at once, you understand more than 99% of parents right now. |
Anonymous
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“ -To be marked as "most rigorous" for college applications you must be a diploma candidate (again, this may be Robinson-specific”
I often wondered about this-but suspected it! I have heard UVA (Dean J) say multiple times they look at which HL classes a student takes-so yes, I think it’s important to take math/science/english as your HLs. |
Anonymous
| Do the Robinson teachers grade the essays? Where do grades come from and are there enough grades released during a quarter that students know where they stand for grades? And do students get at least 2 summative grades and 7 formative and have retakes up to 90% like FCPS policy for other HS or does that not apply for IB? Is grading scale up to 100% or something else for the FcPS transcript grades (so not asking about end of program tests that get shipped off). |
Anonymous
| My kid got the IB diploma at Robinson and was very well prepared for the excellent college she went to. I am glad that we live in that school catchment area. |
Anonymous
Just so you know, your child would have been prepare for that same college if they had taken AP classes. Like the vast majority of the other kids at her school. A strong student in IB would be a strong student in AP and vice versa. |
Anonymous
| Wow, I have a rising 10th at Robinson who plans to do the diploma. I read the course sequence online, but otherwise just figured the school has an IB coordinator for a reason and will tell my kid what to take. |
Anonymous
Probably, but the programs are different. Doing the extended essay requirement involves higher level research than what most kids would get in AP classes. |
Anonymous
You’re braver than me. I don’t like assuming the school will just take care of things and not really understanding myself how they work. Also the school’s guidance may be aiming at just IB diploma completion vs what’s most viable / hardest for my kid, or what colleges expect to see. I don’t think they actually get a ton of support on weighing the best routes for themselves vs what checks necessary boxes. - OP |
Anonymous
Or some would argue less if compare to students taking AP Research or most any of the AP science courses. |
Anonymous
Exactly. IB is not more rigorous but it is a lot more pretentious. But, hey, PP should make sure their kids jump through lots of hoops if they want a special hoop-jumping diploma. |
Anonymous
| They are both good programs. Not too many people think students coming out of European HS are poorly educated. Some schools in our area are IB and that is what families have to figure out if they don’t want the hassle that comes with pupil placement. It is not an easy proram to figure out but when you do, your HS courses are pretty much set. |