Reply to IB - chance that schools will drop IB for AP

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Other than the theory of knowledge course which is unique, why is IB desirable if kids in general are not well rounded enough to get an IB diploma?[/quote]

you also have to do 50 hours of community service in each of three genres and a long thesis-type of paper.  But, most of the kids in the IB schools are are the lower end of the SES ladder and therefore, it's more of the population not being IB-capable.  That said, I didn't like the structure of the IB program (pre-defined requirements:  must do one class in each of 6 subject areas, plus the things listed above).... so when we were looking to move, the IB pyramids were deal-breakers for us.  It was maddening to our real estate agent, and frustrating for us b/c there were houses that would have been good for us but for the IB.  We went with an AP pyramid b/c it has a more a la carte program.

If your kid is definitely a strong student and motivated to complete all the different requirements for IB, it is a good program and will look good for applications.  BUT, if you have kids who may or may not be strong in one or more subjects, and may not be ambitious enough to complete the outside requirements, then IB is not ideal.  AP gives more flexibility without the stigma of "didn't go the extra mile."[/quote]

I think you may have overthought this. 
At an AP school, what percentage of kids take 100% AP classes junior and senior year, a philosophy class, plus 150 hours of community service? Those would be the equivalent of an IB diploma student, and those two subsets of kids will be compared with each other in college admissions as taking an exceedingly rigorous courseload in HS.

At an IB school, you can choose take a handful of IB courses, just like you can with AP courses at an AP school. The major difference is that AP courses are broad survey courses that prepare a student for a multiple choice test and IB courses are in depth courses that prepare a student for a multiple essay based test. Both are valid, and both will be useful preperation for college.

My kids are at an IB high school, and the vast majority are not doing the diploma. The most common reasons are wanting to drop the foreign language after sophomore year, wanting to take academy classes, or just not being able to handle a courseload of 7 IB classes junior and senior year. The amount of rigor is adjustable in both AP and IB. [/quote]

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