Reply to Marshall/Pupil-placing for IB School Overview

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hey, OP, sorry your thread got hijacked!  To answer one of your initial questions, kids who do well in IB need tob e excellent writers, as there is a lot of emphasis on that in every class, including STEM courses.  The IB exams taken during senior year all nearly all essay.  Students need to be self-starters with a drive to succeed, and to be organized and able to manage multiple long term projects and deadlines.  It also helps if your child has high tolerance for stress.

I have one child who earned the IB diploma, and one who just took IB courses in the things he liked best and excelled at.  I thinks it's a great program, and Marshall is an excellent high school.  (In fact, it was ranked 3rd in VA, behind TJ and Marshall and AHEAD of McLean and Langley.)

Just as added food for thought: is your child interested in IB in order to prep for college, or to get college credits?  I think IB does a better job prepping kids for analysis and creative thought. AP is a better choice if you want credit for all of the college-level classes your kid takes, because most colleges on grant credit for IB claases that are 2 years long.  See the multiple threads here on that issue!

[/quote]

This again?  Sigh.  The reason why Marshall got ranked ahead of McLean and Langley by US News was that a primary input to the US News rankings was student IB/AP participation rates.  For Marshall, US News incorrectly assumed a 99% IB participation rate, and substantially lower AP participation rates at McLean and Langley.   IB participation at Marshall has never been anywhere near 99%, either this year or in prior years:

https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/reportcard/report.do?division=29&schoolName=1392

http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:17:2629891184551281::::P0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:070 (reporting enrollment in IB classes last year for 11th and 12th graders ranging from 40.9 percent for Hispanic students to 74.0 percent for white students).

If you think this is sour grapes, feel free to do so.  But the Washington Post "Challenge Index" is also designed to reflect participation in IB and AP courses, and Marshall scored lower in last year's ranking of area schools (#54) than either McLean (#14) or Langley (#16).

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/local/highschoolchallenge/schools/2012/list/local/

If you're interested in the IB program at Marshall, I'd say "go for it," but check to make sure they are honest with the facts about the program.  It used to be a place that cared more about the kids than rankings, but some parents and administrators there care more about rankings now than getting the facts straight.    [/quote]

Let it go, lady. The ranking stands. If there was an error, it will be corrected next year. [/quote]

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