Reply to Practical differences between AP and IB in FCPS?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why is it easier to enroll  students into IB but not AP courses, especially at underperforming FCPS schools? Is IB program less rigorous or does it come with adjustable rigor to fit the caliber of student cohort? [/quote]

IB classes come in two flavors, one is High Level comparable with AP, the other Standard Level comparable with a regular class, and generally don’t get you any college credit. A weaker student could take an SL class a la carte, but [b]I can’t imagine why that would be beneficial in any way[/b].[/quote]

Because they would learn things they would not learn in any other class, particularly the "vanilla" (non-honors/AP/IB) classes. Good God you are stupid.[/quote]

You really are dumb.

SL are most definitely non college level classes. There’s no reason to take SL classes if the other option is the AP equivalent. If the student can’t handle the AP class, even dual enrollment would be more beneficial than the SL class, because at the end of the day you get some advanced coursework and college credit under your belt.

Just to humor you, let’s say you take SL Math instead of regular Precalculus, how is the SL class better? It’s a confusing hodgepodge of algebra, geometry, precalculus, statistics, and calculus that’s very superficial across all topics and it will cover everything from simple stuff like linear and quadratic equations all the way to derivatives and integrals in the time span of one school year. It’s so shallow that it’s relying heavily on memorization, so it’s going to be disastrous for the kids taking the class. They’d be much better off with the “vanilla” precalculus that at least in the precalculus topics will go much deeper than the SL class. IB curriculum is actually terrible when you look into what’s in the syllabus.
[/quote]some schools weigh IB SL classes out of 4.5, some weight them out of 5.0, so that's a reason to take the SL over regular/honors[/quote]

If the gpa boost is the goal, it’s better to take AP or HL in a subject the student is capable. If that particular area is not a strong suit, then it makes more sense to take a regular class then save the time and effort for another AP.

IB curriculum in math and sciences is not very good and it is even worse in SL. Math SL in particular is disastrous because it covers topics from algebra, geometry, precalculus, trigonometry, and calculus in one year, with a very superficial treatment. You can get the 0.5 gpa boost, but you’re taking a poorly organized class that going to be a huge time sink, and in the end you still don’t have a good understanding of the content. [/quote]

At Robinson it's a  boost.

Strangely, I went to a school system where the IB school was like TJ. You had to apply in 8th grade and people clamored for acceptance. And those were the kids who had the best outcomes (i.e. ivy admissions, etc). It was intense, competitive, and in some ways, a series of steps to end up at a elite school as much as a program. I did do well there (I am a physician) and I found the writing to actually be the most useful even in my science classes where the labs were killer.

When we moved here, my kids went to Robinson and it was almost identical except there wasn't the toxic competitiveness. The kids were...nice? But the program structurally was the same and the substance was the same and my ended up at a elite private and UVA and are doing well.

I found the project to basically set up my college essays. That and the TOK paper helped me learn how to write well.[/quote]

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