Questions about MCPS IB Program/Curriculum - is it a real IB program--

[Anonymous]

My family is coming from overseas. Our oldest went through an IB diploma program. We'd like for our younger child (currently a freshman in highschool) to be at a HS with an IB program. We like the curriculum and rigor. We were visiting friends last week and met a couple of people who have kids doing IB programs in MCPS. One Richard Montgomery and one at Albert Einstein. The Albert Einstein family mentioned that their kid took IB Chemistry, but that it was a joint AP/IB chemistry class, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. They are completely different curriculums (husband and I did AP classes back in the day). Richard Montgomery family said classes were only IB classes. The math at MCPS seems different than the IB math our oldest did. None of the IB classes seem to be labeled HL or SL. Is MCPS a real IB program? It seems to be accredited, and Richard Montgomery does have good Diploma rates. Help me understand which school to target - or is there a private option?

[Anonymous]

Einstein
https://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/SchoolCourseCatalogs/School/04789/top

RM
https://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/SchoolCourseCatalogs/School/04201/top

DCUMers will turn you away from Einstein because they think it’s in Ganglandia.

[Anonymous]

Mcps IB teacher here. To get IB at an MCPS school, the school must meet the requirements of the IBO, send teachers to training, and administer the internal and external assessments set forth. The external IB exams occur during the DP years of IB, aka the Jr and Sr years.

SL And HL designations are dropped in favor of Year 1 and Year 2 with regard to scheduling, because the true IB model has students in a core class for two years regardless of whether they sit for SL or HL. Some schools only offer the SL option, so adding SL to the name is moot for internal purposes.

The IB offerings DO differ by school and program. The diploma years program, or DP, are the courses students sit for exams. Some schools offer this a la carte to all students like AP. Some offer the less demanding IB certificate vs the full IB diploma.

Of course AP and IB overlap in core subjects. Many IB students sit for all the AP exams as well. The curricula do differ, but teachers work with students to meet needs of the one they need.

RM is different in that they offer a test in magnet track for 9th and 10th. These courses are aligned to mcps, state, national and MYP guidelines. Once in 11 the grade ALL students in the high school MAY choose to opt in to the DP program in adherence to IBO guidelines which state the curriculum should be accessible to ALL students. Since RM is a mixture of magnet and local population, any student living in the cluster can join in in the 11 the grade, with proper counseling and supports.

If an MCPS school offers IB it will be REAL and meet requirements. Course offerings DO differ and the level. Very few teach HL chem, the equivalent of double period AP chem for example. And the arts and electives differ by teachers skills at each school. Look carefully, ask questions about how many students must request a course for it to run, and what happens if not enough to run 2 sections etc.

Take health and tech online over summer to keep kids' schedules more open for IB course wants while ensuring graduation state guidelines are met.

[Anonymous]

I think RM has the broadest offerings of IB courses because all IB students (~140-170 each year) must be taking the full diploma. IB courses are generally not offered a la carte (with a few exceptions for some low enrollment courses). This means that there are enough students to offer most IB courses, and they are generally not combined with AP courses (levels 5, 6, and 7 of languages being an exception.) For example, IB Biology, IB Chemistry, and IB Physics are all two year sequences with HL/SL choice after two years and they are separate from the AP science courses.

If you have a choice of location to move to, I would aim for the RM cluster. I know that some of the students who join the IB diploma cohort in 11th grade come from overseas and other IB programs, and the school is used to assisting the transition of those types of students.

-RMIB parent

[Anonymous]

OP, I concur Richard Montgomery is your best choice. I’d schedule an appointment with the IB advisor there to get your questions answered and to get an idea of the school community. Richard Montgomery does have a PTA so there’s another opportunity to chat with Ib parents as well.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/rmhs/ptsa/ptsa.aspx

[Anonymous]

I just wanted add the BCC also has an IB program (although see both this thread and neighboring thread on why you might prefer RM).

Also it seems if you can take tech and health (and maybe art) in 9th or 10th you leave your schedule sufficiently open for DP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps IB teacher here. To get IB at an MCPS school, the school must meet the requirements of the IBO, send teachers to training, and administer the internal and external assessments set forth. The external IB exams occur during the DP years of IB, aka the Jr and Sr years.

SL And HL designations are dropped in favor of Year 1 and Year 2 with regard to scheduling, because the true IB model has students in a core class for two years regardless of whether they sit for SL or HL. Some schools only offer the SL option, so adding SL to the name is moot for internal purposes.

The IB offerings DO differ by school and program. The diploma years program, or DP, are the courses students sit for exams. Some schools offer this a la carte to all students like AP. Some offer the less demanding IB certificate vs the full IB diploma.

Of course AP and IB overlap in core subjects. Many IB students sit for all the AP exams as well. The curricula do differ, but teachers work with students to meet needs of the one they need.

RM is different in that they offer a test in magnet track for 9th and 10th. These courses are aligned to mcps, state, national and MYP guidelines. Once in 11 the grade ALL students in the high school MAY choose to opt in to the DP program in adherence to IBO guidelines which state the curriculum should be accessible to ALL students. Since RM is a mixture of magnet and local population, any student living in the cluster can join in in the 11 the grade, with proper counseling and supports.

If an MCPS school offers IB it will be REAL and meet requirements. Course offerings DO differ and the level. Very few teach HL chem, the equivalent of double period AP chem for example. And the arts and electives differ by teachers skills at each school. Look carefully, ask questions about how many students must request a course for it to run, and what happens if not enough to run 2 sections etc.

Take health and tech online over summer to keep kids' schedules more open for IB course wants while ensuring graduation state guidelines are met.

This is a really good answer. I agree 100%.

[Anonymous]

OP, be forewarned that RMIB is among the most selective programs in tbe county and entrance is far from guaranteed.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to everyone that answered this! It sounds like Richard Montgomery has the most comprehensive offerings. I'll call the advisor to ask questions and find out how they transition transfer students. I do understand that the magnet program is highly selective, but everyone can participate in diploma program starting junior year, correct? My child would be entering as a sophomore, so not eligible for the magnet program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone that answered this! It sounds like Richard Montgomery has the most comprehensive offerings. I'll call the advisor to ask questions and find out how they transition transfer students. I do understand that the magnet program is highly selective, but everyone can participate in diploma program starting junior year, correct? My child would be entering as a sophomore, so not eligible for the magnet program.

OP, how are you ever going to fit in here if you keep giving sensible responses?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone that answered this! It sounds like Richard Montgomery has the most comprehensive offerings. I'll call the advisor to ask questions and find out how they transition transfer students. I do understand that the magnet program is highly selective, but everyone can participate in diploma program starting junior year, correct? My child would be entering as a sophomore, so not eligible for the magnet program.

RMIB program is really really hard.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused about this as well.

I thought that the IB diploma required a good number of HL (higher level) classes. How does the student receive an IB diploma if the schools only offers SL (standard level) classes? Are there levels to an IB diploma? Is the diploma only dependent on passing the exam and a bare minimum of lower level courses?

[Anonymous]

If your child is coming in as a sophomore, I would probably recommend buying/renting in the BCC cluster. It has the best IB program after Richard Montgomery. Avoid Kennedy, as it has the lowest pass rates. If you google enough, you can find the pass rates for IB and AP exams at all MCPS schools. At Richard Montgomery, your child will be competing for grades with some of the best geniuses in the county and also competing for college admissions.

[Anonymous]

If your child is coming in as a sophomore, I would probably recommend buying/renting in the BCC cluster. It has the best IB program after Richard Montgomery. Avoid Kennedy, as it has the lowest pass rates. If you google enough, you can find the pass rates for IB and AP exams at all MCPS schools. At Richard Montgomery, your child will be competing for grades with some of the best geniuses in the county and also competing for college admissions.

I think it depends on what you want.

If you just want the IB diploma, want the easiest coursework to get it and want to rank as high as possible then Einstein or Kennedy are better bets. You'll stand out if you pass, get the diploma and not have a huge workload. BCC offers an easy path too but there is much more academic competition there than at Einstein or Kennedy in terms of college competition.
Its cheaper to live in Einstein or Kennedy so I don't know why you would pay BCC prices for an easier IB program.


If you want a challenging program with coursework more similar to what you see in non-US countries then go to RM.

[Anonymous]

"OP, be forewarned that RMIB is among the most selective programs in tbe county and entrance is far from guaranteed."

The child in question is going to be a sophomore this year and would start the IB part of any MCPS school at the beginning of junior year.

Getting to the general IB track at RM in 11th is no harder than at Einstein or BCC.

You could argue that it will be harder to get high grades competing with the test-in students but really the IB requirements to
get which score on the tests are the same for everyone so a little more pressure might not be the worst thing.