Reply to why do people prefer AP schools to IB?

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "why do people prefer AP schools to IB?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Racism.[/quote]

That's ridiculous and a very low-thought answer.

IB has a lot of "hoops" or maybe very specific hoops.  AP is a la carte.  If you want to take 3 science AP classes === you can do that.  If you want to focus more on the english/history end, you can do that.  The classes are stand-alone, so it isn't part of a "program."  You can take IB classes as "stand alone" but you will be doing so against the spirit of the program (which is to earn the IB diploma). The diploma requires one IB class in each of six areas, 4 of which need to be higher level classes (i.e. IB classes that go for 2 yrs rather than one).  All the tests have to be taken at the end of the senior year (I think you can maybe take one or two after junior year).  There is an additional "Theory of Knowledge" class.  And you have to do 150 hrs of community service, but it has to be broken up into three specific genres.  On the one hand, it seems like a real accomplishment to complete the whole thing.  On the other hand, it seems like it is more rigid in what you can choose and what you must do... which may not work out very well for teens who have a hard time committing to their plans for tomorrow, much less committing to take several classes for two full years each.

AP seems to have more to offer in STEM areas.  I think AP gives kids the opportunity to take college level classes without the stigma of not completing a whole program.  The "pick and choose" style of AP lends itself to more kids (with varying abilities).  Whereas the IB program seems to be better for kids who are fully committed from the get go.  You can still do well taking some IB classes.... so you can make either system work for you.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics