There's a group of ~10-15 kids taking AP BC Calculus as sophomores each year. Their accelerated math is partly why they have ended up in the magnet program at RM. AP scores can be self-reported as part of applications. I think they are considered during admissions as part of the general picture of rigor of classes and academic preparedness. No single AP or IB class or test score is going to make or break an application, but they form part of the whole picture. |
DP here. There is no such thing as the magnet IB. There are magnet students at RM who are in a cohort (100 out of area, ~25 homeschool) in 9th and 10th grades in the MYP program, taking core classes together. In 11th and 12th grade, those ~125 students are in the IBDP and are joined by another ~20-25 students from the regular homeschool MYP students. All 150 students are mixed together in classes, as well as with non IBDP students in certain classes that are open to all. |
DP here. PP said basically that. The IB classes at all schools all use the same curriculum as prescribed by the IBO and students eventually take the same tests. But RM does have a different cohort of students, because it has been cherry-picking the top students from all of the other high schools without an IB program (and some with). Teachers adapt classes to meet the needs and interests of their students. When you have a larger number of extremely well prepared students (due to both magnet selection and MYP cohorting in 9th and 10th grades) courses can be taught at a quicker pace and to more depth. Where you see a difference between RM and other IB programs is higher overall IB test scores. The magnet selection process is also why RM (and other magnets) have more NMSF than other high schools. RM isn't "producing" them via classes, they are pulling the highest performers to the school. |
And you don't think it is reasonable to assume that PP was referring to that cohort of magnet kids who are in the IB program for all four years, and not just the two years of certain classes available to everyone? |
Really not sure how to respond to the bolded. There absolutely is a magnet IB program at RM. It is, exactly what you describe in your sentence after the bolded. That cohort has a different overall experience than those students who join the diploma programme in 11th grade. PP said that they heard people in that program had an easy time in college. And you are...denying that there are students in that program? What exactly is the point you are trying to make? |
Seems like they're trying to split hairs but their post makes little sense to me as well. The magnet IB program at RM is believed to be the single hardest program in the county. At least that's the impression I have after reading about these things here for years. My kids went to Blair SMCS and although it was a great program, it wasn't as grueling as RMIB sounds. Parents also have often stated how well it prepared their kids for college and how they were able to breeze through it after RMIB. |
What? This is simply not true. Why are you posting misinformation? Yes, there is most definitely an RMIB diploma program, and it is a much different experience than the IB diploma program at schools like BCC or Kennedy. |
The curriculum may be the same, but RMIB is definitely harder. Kids from other IB programs who go to RMIB have stated this. RMIB teachers who attend IB conferences have stated that they meet other IB teachers from all over the country who know about RMIB because of its rigor. You don't have a kid in RMIB, that is very much clear. In any case, back to OP's question: RM for non IB high performing kids is fine. DC in RMIB had in bound friends who dropped out after 10th grade because they wanted to focus on their athletics and other e.c's. But, these kids are smart, obviously, since they did get into the IB magnet in 9th grade. They may not be in the IB diploma program any longer, but they can still take the IB classes, and of course, AP classes, too, of which there are many. There are definitely many high performing students at RM who are not in the IB diploma program. |
It's a different experience because it's a different magnet program at a different high school... |
The PP is arguing that the kids at Kennedy have the same experience as the kids at RMIB because it’s the same IB Diploma program. (Which obviously is not true, at all) |
Of course kids at Kennedy have a different experience from kids at RM. However, it is the same IB Diploma Programme at Kennedy and the other high schools in the county (and the world), as at RM. |
I think everybody is talking past eachother. Yes, the IB diploma programme curriculum and test is the same everywhere. Yes, the magnet cohort at RM has a different experience than those students in just the diploma programme at nonmagnet schools. |
Kennedy, Springbrook, and Watkins Mill are newer, regional IB magnet schools, whereas RM is countywide, has been around for many years and has developed a strong reputation. |
You shouldn't assume things. I have a recent graduate from the RMIB program and am very experienced with how the program runs. I didn't say RMIB wasn't harder. In fact, I was explaining the main factors for why it is harder (magnet pulling top students from all over the county and 9th/10th cohorting in classes geared towards IBDP prep.) |
+1 |