Madison HS or the IB program at Marshall HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why are you blasting your nonsensical assumptions all over this board as fact?
If you have an issue with the amount of money spent on IB, move your child to an IB school and reap the benefits.

I know the IB proponents don't like being challenged. There's an entrenched IB infrastructure within FCPS of IB coordinators, students and parents, so they react negatively whenever anyone suggests a cost-benefit analysis of the program, even though they are limited in numbers.

And, of course, saying that those who raise valid questions about the money spent on IB should move their kids to IB schools is like saying those who dislike large class sizes should move their kids to Title I schools. It's a knee-jerk "put up or shut up" response that makes a mockery of the claim that IB encourages "critical analysis."

I'm not an IB proponent. I'm a level headed person who has has a kid in each. You, however, are a pompous ass who is speaking with authority using only hearsay and assumptions.

No, I've made an argument, marshalling facts to do so. If that leads you to make personal insults, that says more about you than anyone else, and it won't make your IB school any better.

[Anonymous]

http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=24626


http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10701.aspx

[Anonymous]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/jan/17/20040117-115053-8186r/?page=all

http://reston.patch.com/groups/paul-steins-blog/p/bp--an-open-letter-regarding-south-lakes-high-school

http://fairfaxcaps.netfirms.com/wordpress-act/links/ap-vs-ib/

[Anonymous]

This comment from one of the articles stood out:

"IB was imposed on [South Lakes] without community input in 1999. It serves a tiny fraction of the student body. It constrains SLHS' course offerings for the rest. In order to fill the courses which IB requires SLHS to offer, kids are involuntarily placed in IB classes despite parents' explicit requests to the contrary. Then the involuntarily placed kid can't change classes during the 1st Quarter. IB is more expensive than AP. IB test scores are not reported until July which is after colleges have completed freshman course placement. "Theory of Knowledge" is a watered down version of epistemology, a graduate school level philosophy course. It is sophistry to expect high school students to understand this material when they haven't taken an "introduction to philosophy" course. Quantum mechanics would be more appropriate for high school. Let IB be an academy program at Marshall to which kids can transfer from their base school. AP is more appropriate for the vast majority of SLHS kids."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This comment from one of the articles stood out:

"IB was imposed on [South Lakes] without community input in 1999. It serves a tiny fraction of the student body. It constrains SLHS' course offerings for the rest. In order to fill the courses which IB requires SLHS to offer, kids are involuntarily placed in IB classes despite parents' explicit requests to the contrary. Then the involuntarily placed kid can't change classes during the 1st Quarter. IB is more expensive than AP. IB test scores are not reported until July which is after colleges have completed freshman course placement. "Theory of Knowledge" is a watered down version of epistemology, a graduate school level philosophy course. It is sophistry to expect high school students to understand this material when they haven't taken an "introduction to philosophy" course. Quantum mechanics would be more appropriate for high school. Let IB be an academy program at Marshall to which kids can transfer from their base school. AP is more appropriate for the vast majority of SLHS kids."

Marshall doesn't want the IB program any more than the rest of the schools.

[Anonymous]

Is IB more helpful at the middle school level? Perhaps it could be implemented there to give students a global outlook but not conflict with college level classes. Seems to be a problem that some high school level classes can be counted toward college credit, but others can't. I would want this to be equal at any school within FCPS, but can understand the need to have students think more globally and improve their writing.

[Anonymous]

College admissions for Madison look more impressive than Marshall's, if that matters.

http://jmhshawktalk.com/2013/02/05/191/

http://www.rank-n-file.com/PDF/june-2013.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College admissions for Madison look more impressive than Marshall's, if that matters.

http://jmhshawktalk.com/2013/02/05/191/

http://www.rank-n-file.com/PDF/june-2013.pdf

I just read through both lists.
What is more impressive about Madison's list?
Nothing stood out. They're actually very similar, except for the one kid going to Yale from Marshall.

[Anonymous]

IB is just a bad joke

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College admissions for Madison look more impressive than Marshall's, if that matters.

http://jmhshawktalk.com/2013/02/05/191/

http://www.rank-n-file.com/PDF/june-2013.pdf

Did you notice that Madison's list lists where the students were accepted, while Marshall's list lists where the students will be attending?
Students are listed multiple times on Madison's list.

[Anonymous]

If you are white and low to mediocre, you will fit in fine at Madison.

[Anonymous]

I've read through the articles and comments above and there seems to be a lot of emphasis on whether or not your DC gets college credit for AP vs. IB. Who cares? What I want is a rigorous program that prepares to succeed in college. The independent research project alone was a big draw for us to the IB program. I have a friend who is a college professor who cannot believe students are graduating from well regarded high schools without having ever written a full length term paper.

In my senior year in high school all seniors were required to write a cross disciplinary paper across three classes - one of which has to be English as 1/3 of the grade was to be on the actual writing while the other subject matter teachers would cover the substance. I did not come across another similar assignment until graduate school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've read through the articles and comments above and there seems to be a lot of emphasis on whether or not your DC gets college credit for AP vs. IB. Who cares? What I want is a rigorous program that prepares to succeed in college. The independent research project alone was a big draw for us to the IB program. I have a friend who is a college professor who cannot believe students are graduating from well regarded high schools without having ever written a full length term paper.

In my senior year in high school all seniors were required to write a cross disciplinary paper across three classes - one of which has to be English as 1/3 of the grade was to be on the actual writing while the other subject matter teachers would cover the substance. I did not come across another similar assignment until graduate school.

I agree with you. It seems as though the argument on this board in favor of AP is that their "math and science kid" will do better in AP (meaning they aren't good at writing, and have no interest in furthering their skills), or that AP classes get more college credit.
FCPS is weak in teaching writing. I have a 4th grader at an independent school in DC who has already learned more about the mechanics of writing, and can literally write a better essay than my AAP center 8th grader. The work was just never given to allow my older child to improve writing skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College admissions for Madison look more impressive than Marshall's, if that matters.

http://jmhshawktalk.com/2013/02/05/191/

http://www.rank-n-file.com/PDF/june-2013.pdf

They seem pretty much the same to me, especially given the higher percent of low income in Marshall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College admissions for Madison look more impressive than Marshall's, if that matters.

http://jmhshawktalk.com/2013/02/05/191/

http://www.rank-n-file.com/PDF/june-2013.pdf

They seem pretty much the same to me, especially given the higher percent of low income in Marshall.

They really do. If anything, I might even say Marshall's is marginally better. I wonder if whoever posted them didn't read through them first.