IB as it's currently offered in FCPS doesn't pass a cost-benefit test. And the general assumption is that, if a school has IB, it must have been a school that FCPS decided was in trouble at some point. |
Re FCPS, there were exceptions like Woodson and Robinson. (Woodson parents then pushed back vehemently and saved AP there.) IB was a 1970s through 00s fad for expanding college prep options across the nation. But it was also a way to completely restructure the curriculum at schools then perceived to be in dire need of help to boost enrollment, test scores, etc. That gamble paid off dividends for Marshall. |
Nah, Marshall just benefitted from being near jobs growth in Tysons. It would be better off with AP. |
They have more transferring out than in. Even exempting those that go to TJ. |
Cost-benefit for who? It definitely benefits the kids. If you’re talking about “cost to the county” then I suggest there are lots of more significant costs in a $3.7b budget. If the IB teachers weren’t teaching IB, would they all be fired? Big savings, yay! Or would they be doing something else? No savings, boo! The latter seems more probable. |
The teachers can teach AP and other courses. We don’t need to be paying stand-alone “IB coordinators” who aren’t teaching kids. |
What is that, eight employees out of 40,000? GMAFB. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Why on earth would FCPS pay for 8(!!!) IB coordinators? Fewer than 500 FCPS stidents earn and IB diploma. That is roughly 60 students per one FCPS IB employee. High school teachers have well over 150 students per teacher, and growing next year. What a huge, colossal waist of money. At most, FCPS only need 2-3 IB coordinators for the entire district. |
Eight that we don't need. And, it is not just the pay, it is also the training. I'd love to see the travel budget there. And, then there are the expenses to the IB organization. But, most important, most families would prefer AP. I know my understanding is anecdotal, but, just look at the transfer stats. |
FCPS uniquely used IB to stem middle class flight—25 years ago it was white flight—from schools perceived to be failing or in danger of closing. Hence the plethora of schools and coordinators. Yes it is very expensive. It was not designed as a program for a select group of highly motivated IB diploma bound students—the paradigm at other school districts that introduced IB with selective admissions. |
It’s the law of unintended consequences. FCPS wanted to give declining schools something “special” and ended up further stigmatizing them. AP is a much better advanced program for most students, and that’s why the real top tier in FCPS consists entirely of AP or AP-plus schools: TJ, Langley, Oakton, McLean, Madison, Woodson, and Chantilly. |
Marshall's IB program is not very successful, if you look at the number of diplomas awarded. |
It appears that FCPS used IB to facilitate white (and asian) flight. If it was supposed to stop it, they failed miserably |
You agreeing that these kids are the standard to be measured against smells like insecurity. |
What is “AP-plus”? |