Reply to Serious effort to remove IB from FCPS?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No idea why these IB boosters keep saying those who strongly prefer AP must not be familiar with IB. A lot of us either have first-hand experience with IB or did our homework. IB is a niche program not tailored to the needs of American students.

And it’s obvious from the fact that the top schools in FCPS are AP and that FCPS ceased converting AP schools to IB over a decade ago that the IB implementation in FCPS has been a failure.  It would be far more sensible to convert the IB schools back to AP.  [/quote]

It’s obvious also from IB classes getting less college credit compared to AP ones. IB SL classes are a joke, same as Theory of knowledge and CAS.

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Why are SL classes a joke? Are they not in depth?  What is your experience with them? Not arguing, trying to understand IB better.[/quote]

IB SL classes generally don’t get any college credit. So if you’re set on taking an advanced class a la carte, it makes most sense to take the AP class instead.[/quote]

Or take IB HL (higher level) classes. AP isn’t your only option for college credit. 
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Can’t IB students take AP exams even if they didn’t take the AP class? [/quote]

There are specific test skills that are taught for the AP classes that an IB kid would have to study, on their own time. I seem to recall that AP English Lit requires students study some specific books in order to be able to answer essays about those books.

I understand that there are strengths to the IB program but they are not being utilized by FCPS. The IB program is geared towards earning the IB Diploma, which has benefits for kids wanting to study overseas. It is a specific program with a specific philosophy that involves taking a set number of SL and HL classes and then tests. A very small percentage of HS students in FCPS are embracing the IB program. The diploma numbers are low, even at the schools with the largest number of diploma candidates.

The IB program should be something students apply for, like they do in Arlington, Alexandria, and Loudon County. It should not be the only option for students at specific schools in FCPS. The number of students transferring from IB schools to AP schools is far higher than the number of students transferring from AP to IB schools, and those numbers are inflated by the Herndon kids transferring to SLHS because they don't want to be at Herndon HS.

The program is expensive and underutilized. And yes, I have a bias. My STEM focused kid should be able to attend a school that teaches Calculus as a class without having to take it online because the IB Math track doesn't have a calculus track. Never mind the stupidity of telling a kid that they can take Math HL but have to wait a year to take the exam because the exams have to be taken in 12th grade, and they are ahead of the schedule. Kids are essentially punished for being good at math and ahead.

IB is a failed experiment. It can be a great program for the right kid but there are not enough kids interested in the program to make it worth the money.

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