Is there any place for math/science kid (not TJ level) in IB HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're kid is a math and science kid but not on the TJ level (more on an 8 n a scale from 1-10 if TJ is 10).c? The HS in our pyramid doesn't have AP but has IB. How do math/science kids fare in IB? Are there IB type math and science classes?

My only experience is with my child in Marshall's IB program. The 2-year math HL course is considered the most challenging of all the IB courses. It covers roughly the same topics as AP AB/BC. The end of year Math HL IB exams are very challenging. I have been very pleased with the IB science curriculum...the HL science teachers at Marshall are excellent.

If your goal is to get into an elite college, Marshall's IB program provides the necessary base of knowledge. It is then up to the student set himself apart somehow with awards/extra-curricular activities/research/etc.

I know that this year's seniors have been accepted into Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Stanford, Northwestern, Carnegie-Mellon, etc.

Regarding AP at TJ, principal Glazer considers that playing the "AP game" of taking as many AP exams as possible is one of the biggest problems at the school.

From http://www.washingtonian.com/2009/09/21/success-factory-inside-americas-best-high-school/ :

"He is joined in his battle against AP dominance by some of Jefferson’s veteran teachers and a few alumni who have returned to teach. They say students’ obsession with AP is one of the biggest changes at the school—and perhaps the most harmful.

AP curriculum is standardized and limited, says Jennifer Pierce, a math teacher who graduated from Jefferson in 1994. “AP is a baseline for Jefferson students,” she says. “Students are really just regurgitating information.” The majority of the faculty would gladly ban APs from the school, she says."

+1

[Anonymous]

I saw the Marshall college list for 2015. Two kids going to Ivies - both Cornell - and one to each of Berkeley and MIT. Six to W&M, about a dozen to UVA, about 10 to Virginia Tech, and no one going to Duke, Stanford, Chicago or Northwestern. Biggest schools were GMU, VCU, JMU and NOVA. Certainly nothing to make you think IB was much of an advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the schools in FCPS with the highest math SAT scores and National Merit semifinalists - all AP schools.

This is all about how FCPS chose to implement IB-- by putting it in the lowest performing, lowest SES schools, and not about the merits or difficulty of IB vs AP math. AP math doesn't lead to high math SAT/NMSF. High SES schools would do better on these measures whether they were AP or IB. Besides, neither SAT nor PSAT math scores are based on AP or IB level math. It's not like there is Calculus or even pre- Calc on the SAT, FFS. I don't have a strong AP vs IB preference, but come on.

How does Marshall HS factor in against this? It appears to be one of the few IB High schools that goes against the grain of being high SES or low performing.

[Anonymous]

How do local colleges weigh IB classes compared to AP classes? Can students still opt out of more classes taking AP than IB?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the schools in FCPS with the highest math SAT scores and National Merit semifinalists - all AP schools.

This is all about how FCPS chose to implement IB-- by putting it in the lowest performing, lowest SES schools, and not about the merits or difficulty of IB vs AP math. AP math doesn't lead to high math SAT/NMSF. High SES schools would do better on these measures whether they were AP or IB. Besides, neither SAT nor PSAT math scores are based on AP or IB level math. It's not like there is Calculus or even pre- Calc on the SAT, FFS. I don't have a strong AP vs IB preference, but come on.

How does Marshall HS factor in against this? It appears to be one of the few IB High schools that goes against the grain of being high SES or low performing.

Marshall was another school in the bottom half of FCPS when it got IB in 1997. At the time its SAT scores were on par with Lee and Hayfield.

The main thing that has changed since then is the construction of a lot of expensive SFH in the Marshall district near Tysons/Dunn Loring. Also, if you're going to have IB in FCPS, it's best when you have an IB school like Marshall surrounded by AP schools. That way, even if most people prefer AP, the IB school comes out OK or ahead in terms of net pupil placements.