Any dc high schools with IB programs and should i care?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are considering making MacArthur IB. No idea when this would actually kick in. See most recent FAQ doc with discussion: https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/MacArthur%20FAQ_Eng_FinalUpdated.pdf

Isn’t the new US IB headquarters located within the MacArthur boundary? I would expect them to be lobbying pretty hard for that.

IB HQ is in Bethesda -- did they move?

Near the new Wegmans on Wisconsin? All I know is I drove past the sign and they show up there on Google maps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI is all-IB I believe?

Technically Eastern has one but I don't actually believe it and wouldn't send my kid there anyway.

We are actually very interested in an IB program and considering moving out of DC to get one. Not for college admissions but because I like the approach and I think it teaches kids to write well and also how to think academically in a way that is more similar to college (and thus might ease the transition to college, wherever they go). I look at a lot of high school curriculums and it's just so disjoined and about ticking off boxes in different subjects. IB sounds more cohesive and allows kids to study more deeply into areas of interest, and also to learn to write well on those areas of interest.

I don't think IB is the only way to get this, but given some of the pitiful HS offerings in this area, I like that it is a cohesive approach to secondary education.

Wow, quite the opinionated answer to a question that can be answered factually.

Yes, Eastern and Banneker for DCPS - https://dcps.dc.gov/ib

And DCI for charter - https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/

But are kids at Eastern actually earning the IB diploma or just participating in the program but not performing well enough for the IB diploma? I assume they just get the DCPS diploma

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB is on par with AP for college admissions. IB isn’t a good match for students who accelerate math though.

why is it not a good fit for students who accelerate in math? I would think the 2 different tracks with standard and higher levels for both would give a wide variety of options for different math skill and interest levels.

Because IB programs have their own math programs, so if you have a kid who accelerated math IB math could be a step back.

Not necessarily. Advanced IB math students are encouraged to do independent advanced math research for their IB EE (Extended Essay, thesis). They can also intern in a math setting to meet their CAS (Community, Action Service requirement). I have a nephew who volunteered at the National Academy of Sciences on a math-oriented astronomy project to meet his CAS requirement from Marshall HS in Fairfax (most Marshall students take at least some IB classes). It's far from easy to score a 6 or 7 on IB HL math. My nephew reports that some IB students who double up on a few AP exams score 5s on BC calc fail yet fail to score high on IB HL Math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI is all-IB I believe?

Technically Eastern has one but I don't actually believe it and wouldn't send my kid there anyway.

We are actually very interested in an IB program and considering moving out of DC to get one. Not for college admissions but because I like the approach and I think it teaches kids to write well and also how to think academically in a way that is more similar to college (and thus might ease the transition to college, wherever they go). I look at a lot of high school curriculums and it's just so disjoined and about ticking off boxes in different subjects. IB sounds more cohesive and allows kids to study more deeply into areas of interest, and also to learn to write well on those areas of interest.

I don't think IB is the only way to get this, but given some of the pitiful HS offerings in this area, I like that it is a cohesive approach to secondary education.

Wow, quite the opinionated answer to a question that can be answered factually.

Yes, Eastern and Banneker for DCPS - https://dcps.dc.gov/ib

And DCI for charter - https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/

But are kids at Eastern actually earning the IB diploma or just participating in the program but not performing well enough for the IB diploma? I assume they just get the DCPS diploma

Yes, Eastern students earn the Diploma, at least a dozen annually. But these kids score in the mid to high 20s on a 24-45 IB points pass scale. There are several suburban IB programs in this Metro area where average points totals are in the high 30s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are considering making MacArthur IB. No idea when this would actually kick in. See most recent FAQ doc with discussion: https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/MacArthur%20FAQ_Eng_FinalUpdated.pdf

Isn’t the new US IB headquarters located within the MacArthur boundary? I would expect them to be lobbying pretty hard for that.

IB HQ is in Bethesda -- did they move?

Near the new Wegmans on Wisconsin? All I know is I drove past the sign and they show up there on Google maps.

The IB website lists Wisconsin Ave DC as their address but the map pin is still Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI is all-IB I believe?

Technically Eastern has one but I don't actually believe it and wouldn't send my kid there anyway.

We are actually very interested in an IB program and considering moving out of DC to get one. Not for college admissions but because I like the approach and I think it teaches kids to write well and also how to think academically in a way that is more similar to college (and thus might ease the transition to college, wherever they go). I look at a lot of high school curriculums and it's just so disjoined and about ticking off boxes in different subjects. IB sounds more cohesive and allows kids to study more deeply into areas of interest, and also to learn to write well on those areas of interest.

I don't think IB is the only way to get this, but given some of the pitiful HS offerings in this area, I like that it is a cohesive approach to secondary education.

Wow, quite the opinionated answer to a question that can be answered factually.

Yes, Eastern and Banneker for DCPS - https://dcps.dc.gov/ib

And DCI for charter - https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/

But are kids at Eastern actually earning the IB diploma or just participating in the program but not performing well enough for the IB diploma? I assume they just get the DCPS diploma

Yes, Eastern students earn the Diploma, at least a dozen annually. But these kids score in the mid to high 20s on a 24-45 IB points pass scale. There are several suburban IB programs in this Metro area where average points totals are in the high 30s.

Interesting. Is there a publicly-available source for this sort of information? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, no. IBD is quite opaque where results go. But you can always contact the IB Coordinator at an individual IB World School to ask about general results from that program. Some general country data available here.

https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/new-structure/about-the-ib/pdfs/final-statistical-bulletin-dp-cp-may-2022.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are considering making MacArthur IB. No idea when this would actually kick in. See most recent FAQ doc with discussion: https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/page_content/attachments/MacArthur%20FAQ_Eng_FinalUpdated.pdf

Isn’t the new US IB headquarters located within the MacArthur boundary? I would expect them to be lobbying pretty hard for that.

Yes at the new City Ridge development at 4000 Wisconsin. The old Fannie Mae building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCI is all-IB I believe?

Technically Eastern has one but I don't actually believe it and wouldn't send my kid there anyway.

We are actually very interested in an IB program and considering moving out of DC to get one. Not for college admissions but because I like the approach and I think it teaches kids to write well and also how to think academically in a way that is more similar to college (and thus might ease the transition to college, wherever they go). I look at a lot of high school curriculums and it's just so disjoined and about ticking off boxes in different subjects. IB sounds more cohesive and allows kids to study more deeply into areas of interest, and also to learn to write well on those areas of interest.

I don't think IB is the only way to get this, but given some of the pitiful HS offerings in this area, I like that it is a cohesive approach to secondary education.

Wow, quite the opinionated answer to a question that can be answered factually.

Yes, Eastern and Banneker for DCPS - https://dcps.dc.gov/ib

And DCI for charter - https://dcinternationalschool.org/academic-program/international-baccalaureate/

But are kids at Eastern actually earning the IB diploma or just participating in the program but not performing well enough for the IB diploma? I assume they just get the DCPS diploma

Yes, Eastern students earn the Diploma, at least a dozen annually. But these kids score in the mid to high 20s on a 24-45 IB points pass scale. There are several suburban IB programs in this Metro area where average points totals are in the high 30s.

All of this. It's good that the IB program at Eastern is available for kids at the school who want/need a challenge. But the reason that's good is because otherwise Eastern is a pretty miserable place for an academic kid with college plans. I wish that was not the case, but it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB is on par with AP for college admissions. IB isn’t a good match for students who accelerate math though.

why is it not a good fit for students who accelerate in math? I would think the 2 different tracks with standard and higher levels for both would give a wide variety of options for different math skill and interest levels.

Because IB programs have their own math programs, so if you have a kid who accelerated math IB math could be a step back.

Not necessarily. Advanced IB math students are encouraged to do independent advanced math research for their IB EE (Extended Essay, thesis). They can also intern in a math setting to meet their CAS (Community, Action Service requirement). I have a nephew who volunteered at the National Academy of Sciences on a math-oriented astronomy project to meet his CAS requirement from Marshall HS in Fairfax (most Marshall students take at least some IB classes). It's far from easy to score a 6 or 7 on IB HL math. My nephew reports that some IB students who double up on a few AP exams score 5s on BC calc fail yet fail to score high on IB HL Math.

Kids with a 5 in Calc BC who attend American colleges have no reason to care about their IB math score. Calc BC is equivalent to Calc 2, and most universities don’t give more than Calc 1 credit for IB HL math. Basically your nephew’s friends have figured out that IB math is useless for American math students and are rationally choosing to neglect the more arcane portions of the IB curriculum to self-study for the much more useful AP exam.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP - kids who are strong in math/science do better with AP than IB. You can always mix and match so you take some IB and some AP, but I would not encourage a kid who was strong in math/science to get the IB diploma. AP science classes tend to go into more depth in particular than IB science classes. However, for a kid who is into the humanities and loves writing, IB is great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, no. IBD is quite opaque where results go. But you can always contact the IB Coordinator at an individual IB World School to ask about general results from that program. Some general country data available here.

https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/new-structure/about-the-ib/pdfs/final-statistical-bulletin-dp-cp-may-2022.pdf

Interesting that the US has far more IB candidates than other country in the world.

Top 6:

US: 87,206
UK: 5,250
India: 4,998
Netherlands: 4,833
China: 4,659
Spain: 4,606

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP - kids who are strong in math/science do better with AP than IB. You can always mix and match so you take some IB and some AP, but I would not encourage a kid who was strong in math/science to get the IB diploma. AP science classes tend to go into more depth in particular than IB science classes. However, for a kid who is into the humanities and loves writing, IB is great.

I’m in a science field and disagree. You don’t need to focus so much on math and science in high school. Plenty of time in college and beyond.

It’s more important to develop strong writing, which is lacking in public schools. The people who rise up in the ranks in the STEM fields are not the ones strongest in the sciences. It’s the ones who are strong on the soft skills and humanities side with writing, communicating, etc…

[Anonymous]

Good point, I’ve done STEM oriented legal work for a federal agency since 9/11 and agree with PP above. Although I trained as an engineer, my career has been built on the writing and research skills I gained in law school. We’re planning to move to the burbs for a strong IBD program for our two children. We’re not satisfied with DCI. There isn’t nearly enough ability grouping/academic tracking in the DCI middle school, portending fairly mediocre academics at the HS level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with PP - kids who are strong in math/science do better with AP than IB. You can always mix and match so you take some IB and some AP, but I would not encourage a kid who was strong in math/science to get the IB diploma. AP science classes tend to go into more depth in particular than IB science classes. However, for a kid who is into the humanities and loves writing, IB is great.

I’m in a science field and disagree. You don’t need to focus so much on math and science in high school. Plenty of time in college and beyond.

It’s more important to develop strong writing, which is lacking in public schools. The people who rise up in the ranks in the STEM fields are not the ones strongest in the sciences. It’s the ones who are strong on the soft skills and humanities side with writing, communicating, etc…

I agree with this and also built my career on it. However if you have a child who is accelerated in math, it is difficult for them to stomach the idea of going back down a level (or two) in math. I would like my kid to do IB precisely because of the focus in writing. It’s my kid’s decision but that’s the strike against IB.