Practical differences between AP and IB in FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

A stronger peer group at an AP school will always trump a weaker peer group at an IB school for educated parents seeking to maximize their kids’ academic potential.

My kid is at an IB school and has a strong peer group. His friends who graduated this year are going to great colleges.

Are there numbers available for the number of IB graduates per school? Seems like most of the comments are coming from one school district with lots of kids from high income families getting the IB diploma.

My high performing DC is doing the full diploma at one of the worst regarded schools in the county. Sure, the cohort is small, but it's truly a group of gifted and hardworking kids who will graduate much more prepared for college than many AP kids. And, coming from our school of our "stature" will give them a leg up in the admissions process

Kids doing the full IB diploma are better prepared than kids who only took 1 or 2 AP courses. Otherwise, no. The benefits of the stronger peer group at the AP school will leave the AP kids better prepared. Plus, why would you get a leg up in the admissions process when you don't even know if you're actually getting an IB diploma until after you've graduated from HS?

But hope your kid enjoys IB and jumping through all the hoops. For some it's a challenge they really enjoy, kind of like earning merit badges. Many others find it annoying and unduly prescriptive.

Just like you don't know what your scores are in the AP classes you take senior year. Admissions will know that the student is pursuing the full IB diploma based on the courses the are taking: 3 HL classes, 3 SL classes, an IB elective and TOK. There is a chart published by IB that is now several years old, that shows the admissions rate for IB diploma candidates versus non-diploma candidates. The IB candidates had a higher admissions rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

Different poster, I think the PP has a point about the high SES demographics choosing AP over IB.

In my experience the IB cheerleaders are far less sophisticated about education and are easily swayed by the smoke and mirrors of the marketing materials, like “critical thinking”, “problem solving”, “global citizen”, IB will get your kid in an ivy etc.

People that actually have developed critical thinking, will look in the course catalogue and discover with dismay that the low tier IB schools have a slim course offering consisting of SL Math and HL Biology. Next level of critical thinking is to go through the syllabus and see that the IB classes in math and sciences are clearly inferior to the AP.

You can also compare writing intensive AP classes as English and History, with IB. I don’t see the latter coming on top. Often you hear about the IB extended essay, a 4000 page write up as the pinnacle of writing in IB. For comparison AP English exam you need to write three different essays, for a 5 it’s typical to write a total 2000 words and that’s timed free response questions in about two hours. It’s similar for AP History.

Very popular with the IB cheer squad is to make the argument from authority, exemplified in this thread by the supposed college English professor, or some other variants like the admission officer giving a solid tip that they “love” IB candidates, or the child that swore they “were well prepared for college” or that found “college work easy by comparison”., or some meaningless moronic snippets like “AP teaches to the test, regurgitates material, is just memorization”, “IB teaches you how to think, AP teaches what to think”. Very few professionals would take these arguments seriously so yes, SES demographics matter because these people on average have a better and finer tuned bs detector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The real question is: what percent of HYPSM freshmen were IB students in high school?

you'd have to first account for the fact that many would not have had access to IB vs AP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

A stronger peer group at an AP school will always trump a weaker peer group at an IB school for educated parents seeking to maximize their kids’ academic potential.

My kid is at an IB school and has a strong peer group. His friends who graduated this year are going to great colleges.

Are there numbers available for the number of IB graduates per school? Seems like most of the comments are coming from one school district with lots of kids from high income families getting the IB diploma.

My high performing DC is doing the full diploma at one of the worst regarded schools in the county. Sure, the cohort is small, but it's truly a group of gifted and hardworking kids who will graduate much more prepared for college than many AP kids. And, coming from our school of our "stature" will give them a leg up in the admissions process

Kids doing the full IB diploma are better prepared than kids who only took 1 or 2 AP courses. Otherwise, no. The benefits of the stronger peer group at the AP school will leave the AP kids better prepared. Plus, why would you get a leg up in the admissions process when you don't even know if you're actually getting an IB diploma until after you've graduated from HS?

But hope your kid enjoys IB and jumping through all the hoops. For some it's a challenge they really enjoy, kind of like earning merit badges. Many others find it annoying and unduly prescriptive.

Just like you don't know what your scores are in the AP classes you take senior year. Admissions will know that the student is pursuing the full IB diploma based on the courses the are taking: 3 HL classes, 3 SL classes, an IB elective and TOK. There is a chart published by IB that is now several years old, that shows the admissions rate for IB diploma candidates versus non-diploma candidates. The IB candidates had a higher admissions rate.

Except:

* AP students can take AP tests and share their scores before they graduate; and

* If I recall correctly, the IBO table compares IB diploma candidates to students not pursuing an IB diploma, whether it's at an IB school or a school that offers no advanced classes at all. Of course they have a higher admissions rate, but they aren't at any advantage relative to kids taking lots of AP classes.

For us as someone who had kids at both IB and AP schools, the biggest benefit of being at an AP school was the fact that no one was bloviating about it being a "school within a school" or creating "global citizens." It was a lower key yet higher achieving environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

A stronger peer group at an AP school will always trump a weaker peer group at an IB school for educated parents seeking to maximize their kids’ academic potential.

My kid is at an IB school and has a strong peer group. His friends who graduated this year are going to great colleges.

Are there numbers available for the number of IB graduates per school? Seems like most of the comments are coming from one school district with lots of kids from high income families getting the IB diploma.

My high performing DC is doing the full diploma at one of the worst regarded schools in the county. Sure, the cohort is small, but it's truly a group of gifted and hardworking kids who will graduate much more prepared for college than many AP kids. And, coming from our school of our "stature" will give them a leg up in the admissions process

Kids doing the full IB diploma are better prepared than kids who only took 1 or 2 AP courses. Otherwise, no. The benefits of the stronger peer group at the AP school will leave the AP kids better prepared. Plus, why would you get a leg up in the admissions process when you don't even know if you're actually getting an IB diploma until after you've graduated from HS?

But hope your kid enjoys IB and jumping through all the hoops. For some it's a challenge they really enjoy, kind of like earning merit badges. Many others find it annoying and unduly prescriptive.

Just like you don't know what your scores are in the AP classes you take senior year. Admissions will know that the student is pursuing the full IB diploma based on the courses the are taking: 3 HL classes, 3 SL classes, an IB elective and TOK. There is a chart published by IB that is now several years old, that shows the admissions rate for IB diploma candidates versus non-diploma candidates. The IB candidates had a higher admissions rate.

Except:

* AP students can take AP tests and share their scores before they graduate; and

* If I recall correctly, the IBO table compares IB diploma candidates to students not pursuing an IB diploma, whether it's at an IB school or a school that offers no advanced classes at all. Of course they have a higher admissions rate, but they aren't at any advantage relative to kids taking lots of AP classes.

For us as someone who had kids at both IB and AP schools, the biggest benefit of being at an AP school was the fact that no one was bloviating about it being a "school within a school" or creating "global citizens." It was a lower key yet higher achieving environment.

But if they don’t talk about global citizenry, people might get the impression the program is not very good so you can’t have that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

Different poster, I think the PP has a point about the high SES demographics choosing AP over IB.

In my experience the IB cheerleaders are far less sophisticated about education and are easily swayed by the smoke and mirrors of the marketing materials, like “critical thinking”, “problem solving”, “global citizen”, IB will get your kid in an ivy etc.

People that actually have developed critical thinking, will look in the course catalogue and discover with dismay that the low tier IB schools have a slim course offering consisting of SL Math and HL Biology. Next level of critical thinking is to go through the syllabus and see that the IB classes in math and sciences are clearly inferior to the AP.

You can also compare writing intensive AP classes as English and History, with IB. I don’t see the latter coming on top. Often you hear about the IB extended essay, a 4000 page write up as the pinnacle of writing in IB. For comparison AP English exam you need to write three different essays, for a 5 it’s typical to write a total 2000 words and that’s timed free response questions in about two hours. It’s similar for AP History.

Very popular with the IB cheer squad is to make the argument from authority, exemplified in this thread by the supposed college English professor, or some other variants like the admission officer giving a solid tip that they “love” IB candidates, or the child that swore they “were well prepared for college” or that found “college work easy by comparison”., or some meaningless moronic snippets like “AP teaches to the test, regurgitates material, is just memorization”, “IB teaches you how to think, AP teaches what to think”. Very few professionals would take these arguments seriously so yes, SES demographics matter because these people on average have a better and finer tuned bs detector.

Im not pro/anti either program but why can’t you just list the advantages of AP without having to resort to insults like people who like IB being “less sophisticated about education” and not having high level critical thinking? I’m a PP who said certain students might prefer/be better fits for one over the other. I just find it amusing that you can’t comprehend someone else having a different opinion and therefore you must assume they are less sophisticated or don’t even exist (with your “so called professor” comment). Ironically, you are not exhibiting highly critical thinking with these comments PP.

[Anonymous]

OP-you will never get an unbiased discussion in this forum. Pick a house in a solid neighborhood. Look at both programs. Use other online sources to get your info. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

The information about IB in FCPS on this forum is reasonably accurate. It’s not the preferred choice for most with other options, due to both the structure of the IB program and the schools in FCPS that offer the program. There are other places where it may be the best available option or where the schools themselves are stronger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

Different poster, I think the PP has a point about the high SES demographics choosing AP over IB.

In my experience the IB cheerleaders are far less sophisticated about education and are easily swayed by the smoke and mirrors of the marketing materials, like “critical thinking”, “problem solving”, “global citizen”, IB will get your kid in an ivy etc.

People that actually have developed critical thinking, will look in the course catalogue and discover with dismay that the low tier IB schools have a slim course offering consisting of SL Math and HL Biology. Next level of critical thinking is to go through the syllabus and see that the IB classes in math and sciences are clearly inferior to the AP.

You can also compare writing intensive AP classes as English and History, with IB. I don’t see the latter coming on top. Often you hear about the IB extended essay, a 4000 page write up as the pinnacle of writing in IB. For comparison AP English exam you need to write three different essays, for a 5 it’s typical to write a total 2000 words and that’s timed free response questions in about two hours. It’s similar for AP History.

Very popular with the IB cheer squad is to make the argument from authority, exemplified in this thread by the supposed college English professor, or some other variants like the admission officer giving a solid tip that they “love” IB candidates, or the child that swore they “were well prepared for college” or that found “college work easy by comparison”., or some meaningless moronic snippets like “AP teaches to the test, regurgitates material, is just memorization”, “IB teaches you how to think, AP teaches what to think”. Very few professionals would take these arguments seriously so yes, SES demographics matter because these people on average have a better and finer tuned bs detector.

Im not pro/anti either program but why can’t you just list the advantages of AP without having to resort to insults like people who like IB being “less sophisticated about education” and not having high level critical thinking? I’m a PP who said certain students might prefer/be better fits for one over the other. I just find it amusing that you can’t comprehend someone else having a different opinion and therefore you must assume they are less sophisticated or don’t even exist (with your “so called professor” comment). Ironically, you are not exhibiting highly critical thinking with these comments PP.

The “supposed” English professor is an example of an argument from authority devoid of any substance, based only on someone’s qualifications that in this case can’t even be verified. With a modicum of intelligence you realize it’s bs because a college professor wouldn’t have direct knowledge about the high school coursework of the students, considering education privacy laws.

Upthread a poster quoted some principals saying “AP teaches you what to think, IB teaches you how to think”. Sorry, but you’d have to lack depth to take that at face value, some might even call it unsophisticated, but only to be polite.

[Anonymous]

FCPS just needs to settle on one program. Reduce pupil placement and make the schools more similar. All FCPS high schools were AP at one time. There is no requirement to offer two different advanced programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

A stronger peer group at an AP school will always trump a weaker peer group at an IB school for educated parents seeking to maximize their kids’ academic potential.

My kid is at an IB school and has a strong peer group. His friends who graduated this year are going to great colleges.

Are there numbers available for the number of IB graduates per school? Seems like most of the comments are coming from one school district with lots of kids from high income families getting the IB diploma.

My high performing DC is doing the full diploma at one of the worst regarded schools in the county. Sure, the cohort is small, but it's truly a group of gifted and hardworking kids who will graduate much more prepared for college than many AP kids. And, coming from our school of our "stature" will give them a leg up in the admissions process

Kids doing the full IB diploma are better prepared than kids who only took 1 or 2 AP courses. Otherwise, no. The benefits of the stronger peer group at the AP school will leave the AP kids better prepared. Plus, why would you get a leg up in the admissions process when you don't even know if you're actually getting an IB diploma until after you've graduated from HS?

But hope your kid enjoys IB and jumping through all the hoops. For some it's a challenge they really enjoy, kind of like earning merit badges. Many others find it annoying and unduly prescriptive.

Just like you don't know what your scores are in the AP classes you take senior year. Admissions will know that the student is pursuing the full IB diploma based on the courses the are taking: 3 HL classes, 3 SL classes, an IB elective and TOK. There is a chart published by IB that is now several years old, that shows the admissions rate for IB diploma candidates versus non-diploma candidates. The IB candidates had a higher admissions rate.

Except:

* AP students can take AP tests and share their scores before they graduate; and

* If I recall correctly, the IBO table compares IB diploma candidates to students not pursuing an IB diploma, whether it's at an IB school or a school that offers no advanced classes at all. Of course they have a higher admissions rate, but they aren't at any advantage relative to kids taking lots of AP classes.

For us as someone who had kids at both IB and AP schools, the biggest benefit of being at an AP school was the fact that no one was bloviating about it being a "school within a school" or creating "global citizens." It was a lower key yet higher achieving environment.

My kid is at an IB school and I've never heard any of that, not even from the IB coordinator who gives a rah-rah presentation about it every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

A stronger peer group at an AP school will always trump a weaker peer group at an IB school for educated parents seeking to maximize their kids’ academic potential.

My kid is at an IB school and has a strong peer group. His friends who graduated this year are going to great colleges.

Are there numbers available for the number of IB graduates per school? Seems like most of the comments are coming from one school district with lots of kids from high income families getting the IB diploma.

My high performing DC is doing the full diploma at one of the worst regarded schools in the county. Sure, the cohort is small, but it's truly a group of gifted and hardworking kids who will graduate much more prepared for college than many AP kids. And, coming from our school of our "stature" will give them a leg up in the admissions process

Kids doing the full IB diploma are better prepared than kids who only took 1 or 2 AP courses. Otherwise, no. The benefits of the stronger peer group at the AP school will leave the AP kids better prepared. Plus, why would you get a leg up in the admissions process when you don't even know if you're actually getting an IB diploma until after you've graduated from HS?

But hope your kid enjoys IB and jumping through all the hoops. For some it's a challenge they really enjoy, kind of like earning merit badges. Many others find it annoying and unduly prescriptive.

Just like you don't know what your scores are in the AP classes you take senior year. Admissions will know that the student is pursuing the full IB diploma based on the courses the are taking: 3 HL classes, 3 SL classes, an IB elective and TOK. There is a chart published by IB that is now several years old, that shows the admissions rate for IB diploma candidates versus non-diploma candidates. The IB candidates had a higher admissions rate.

Except:

* AP students can take AP tests and share their scores before they graduate; and

* If I recall correctly, the IBO table compares IB diploma candidates to students not pursuing an IB diploma, whether it's at an IB school or a school that offers no advanced classes at all. Of course they have a higher admissions rate, but they aren't at any advantage relative to kids taking lots of AP classes.

For us as someone who had kids at both IB and AP schools, the biggest benefit of being at an AP school was the fact that no one was bloviating about it being a "school within a school" or creating "global citizens." It was a lower key yet higher achieving environment.

My kid is at an IB school and I've never heard any of that, not even from the IB coordinator who gives a rah-rah presentation about it every year.

+1. Maybe it’s certain schools.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP with an IB kid at a poorly regarded school. Not only is she getting a good education, her school's demographics do, in fact, give her an advantage in college admissions, beyond IB. For example, there were significantly more graduating seniors accepted to UVA this year at her school than at higher SES schools, where the fight for just a few spots is super competitive.

I'm not saying IB is all that, or a good fit for everyone, particularly those who struggle with writing. But there are certain types of students who can benefit tremendously from the program. And the fact that IB is typically offered in lower SES schools means that those who thrive in the program have an easier route to top colleges and universities, where they arrive prepared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the PP with an IB kid at a poorly regarded school. Not only is she getting a good education, her school's demographics do, in fact, give her an advantage in college admissions, beyond IB. For example, there were significantly more graduating seniors accepted to UVA this year at her school than at higher SES schools, where the fight for just a few spots is super competitive.

I'm not saying IB is all that, or a good fit for everyone, particularly those who struggle with writing. But there are certain types of students who can benefit tremendously from the program. And the fact that IB is typically offered in lower SES schools means that those who thrive in the program have an easier route to top colleges and universities, where they arrive prepared.

The top AP schools get significantly more kids into UVA and the kids are better prepared because they’ve spent years with a stronger peer group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been years where some of the top AP schools like Langley, McLean, and Oakton each had as many National Merit Semifinalists as all eight of the IB schools in the county combined.

Selection effect, nitwit. Correlation not causation.

If IB were all that, the higher SES communities would by now have demanded it for their schools. They do not want it, whether it’s Langley in FCPS or Whitman in MCPS. That is far more compelling evidence than the typical, biased pro-IB anecdotes invariably offered on these threads.

You suggest the high-SES communities must know best. They aren't exactly experts in the field of education. The average parent simply knows that within FCPS, most AP schools have good GreatSchools ratings and most IB schools have poor GreatSchools ratings.
Few outsider parents know any real details about IB. It's always the same, incorrect, critiques repeated ad infinitum: perceived inflexibility, too much reading and writing (Writing for math and science? Ridiculous!), and less college credit (no credit for SL, credit for HL).

Different poster, I think the PP has a point about the high SES demographics choosing AP over IB.

In my experience the IB cheerleaders are far less sophisticated about education and are easily swayed by the smoke and mirrors of the marketing materials, like “critical thinking”, “problem solving”, “global citizen”, IB will get your kid in an ivy etc.

People that actually have developed critical thinking, will look in the course catalogue and discover with dismay that the low tier IB schools have a slim course offering consisting of SL Math and HL Biology.

I don't know which "low tier" schools you're sneering at but
IB physics 1 is at 8 schools
IB physics 2 is at 7 schools
IB chem HL 2 is at 5 schools
IB bio HL 2 is at 8 schools
IB Math Anl&App HL 2 is at 7 schools
IB Math App & Int HL 2 is at 5 schools

As there are only 8 IB schools, it is clear that high level math and science are widely available and you should shut up.