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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Each program has its strengths. The IB parents in Fairfax tend to try and over-compensate for the fact that their schools are lower-performing overall by exaggerating the benefits of IB.  That’s why we invariably hear the entirely false assertions that AP is only about rote memorization, whereas IB teaches critical thinking skills and gives kids an advantage in college admissions. It’s laughable but also somewhat understandable when you put it in context. [/quote]

This is so true.

People want to justify the choices they made for their kids, but the mental gymnastics is getting out of control. The critical thinking problem solving bit is the most ridiculous of all. Have they measured the critical thinking of the students to know? And how?

Agree that it doesn’t confer an advantage to college admissions compared to AP, although it’s stated in every IB thread as a fact. If anything, it will sometimes hurt the high performing kids, because the program is too rigid and lacks flexibility. [/quote]

There’s a lot of buyer’s regret when people realize they are zoned for an IB school and that 80-98% of the kids at those schools don’t get IB diplomas. Meanwhile the AP schools offer a more flexible curriculum without all the rhetoric about creating “global citizens,” “life-long learners,” etc. [/quote]

If your kid is too dumb and lazy to get an IB diploma then he will also be too dumb and lazy to succeed at an AP school. The kids at IB schools who do not do IB would not take advantage of that "flexible AP curriculum" if the school offered it.[/quote]

IB is not a good fit for the top students that want to take more coursework in one area, and it’s not good for the students that should only take a few advanced courses in high school. Those students would benefit more from the a la carte AP curriculum which is better aligned with community colleges and universities. IB is one size fits all and is failing at the upper and lower tiers.[/quote]

I am embarrassed for you that you don't understand that kids at IB schools who you think "should" only take a few advanced courses in high school [i]already have the option to do that[/i]. IB is not "all or nothing". You can take IB classes "a la carte" just like AP classes. You are not obligated to pursue the diploma program.

"the a la carte AP curriculum which is better aligned with community colleges and universities" - what AP kid is going to a community college, what are you blathering about here?

"IB is one size fits all and is failing at the upper and lower tiers" - IB is not one size fits all, is not failing at the upper tiers (the kids capable of advanced work get IB diplomas and are well prepared for college), and is not failing at the lower tiers (the kids who are not capable of completing the diploma program can still take some of the courses and benefit from them).

Why do people talk when they are so profoundly ignorant?[/quote]

DP.  You're the ignorant one.  The IBO program was designed with the IB diploma specifically in mind as the intended goal.  Unfortunately, it failed at achieving that goal at most schools where it was implemented, so there was a pivot to emphasizing that kids could just take individual IB courses.

[b][You remain both ignorant and dishonest. The goal of IB was never "every kid at an IB school will get an IB diploma". The IB program is not failing because it is not trying to do the thing you claim it is trying to do.][/b]

The IB diploma rate in FCPS is a joke.  They should scrap the entire program or create one IB school where every kid is committed to obtaining an IB diploma.  Otherwise it's just a wasteful and inefficient program that gets propped up because a few noisy parents think it made their own kids special snowflakes (even when they are ultimately no better situated in terms of college prep or admissions than AP students).

[b][Again you are reprehensibly dishonest. The "IB diploma rate" depends on the denominator you use. If it's "every senior in the school" then the rate is low. But not every kid in the school is in the IB program or trying to get an IB diploma. If the denominator is "IB candidates" (ie how many kids [i]actually in the IB program[/i] get the IB diploma) then the diploma rate is very good.

There is no waste and inefficiency in offering the IB program. If the schools that teach IB courses did not do that, then they'd have to offer AP courses instead. You'd have the same number of teachers employed at the school, and maybe even more.

Having an entire school devoted to IB would be even more wasteful and inefficient.][/b]

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