Reply to Robinson dumping AP classes and focusing on IB

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "Robinson dumping AP classes and focusing on IB"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]IB course sequences are needlessly complicated. The math makes little sense. And you better know that your student wants to get the IB Diploma by the time 7th grade is ending.

IB two-year courses require exams after the second year. Far from ideal.

IB is more expensive.

Students can take IB courses à la carte, but the universities like to see the IB Diploma.

I believe Robinson, Marshall, and South Lakes have the best IB Diploma rate. At Robinson, in good years, the school has between 18 and 20 percent of the students earn the IB Diploma. That means, at one of the best performing schools, 4 out of 5 students don't earn the IB Diploma. Even among the students who do earn the Diploma, I would guess that half of those would have been OK with AP. In other words, they did IB because it was what was there, not because they loved it. The number of true IB fans is pretty small.

At this point it is inertia, a small number of IB advocates, and School Board stubbornness that prevents FCPS from reconsidering how IB is provided in the county.

The county does not have to provide two advanced academic programs at the high school level. AP is straightforward, has a long history and understanding across the country, and cost less. It should be the choice for all FCPS high schools.

I would vote for a School Board candidate that endorsed this common sense.

At a minimum, FCPS should survey the parents across the IB schools to see if they want to continue the program. The problem with surveying parents is that they won't understand how convoluted IB is until their students are in immersed in it.[/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