Reply to why do people prefer AP schools to IB?

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Reply to "why do people prefer AP schools to IB?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]New York Times:  "In the more affluent, homogeneous sections of Fairfax, high schools such as Langley, where about 2 percent of students are on free or reduced lunch, have rejected I.B. and stuck with the College Board’s Advanced Placement program. And with good reason."

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That's NOT the NY Times opinion, that is "Patrick Welsh, a retired teacher, taught English at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va.", well known for his rabid opposition to IB (probably posts on this board too).

Here is from the NYT Education front page article "International Program Catches On in U.S. Schools" by Tamar Lewin, who frequently writes on education for the NYT:
“No question, the people who founded the I.B. were sitting in Geneva, post-World War II, thinking about how to ensure world peace, so the clear philosophical bent is that by integrating learning and understanding issues from multiple perspectives, we can promote global thinking,” he said. “But what sold me on the program was that it’s good pedagogy, that it really shows kids how things go together.”

Still, Mr. Mosca has no plans to eliminate the school’s Advanced Placement offerings.

“A.P. is great for content-based traditional learning,” he said. “It’s great for kids who like to memorize. But for more creative kids, who want to make those connections, there’s nothing like the I.B.”

We can do battle of the quotes all day long - it doesn't prove anything. We can't do a randomized experiment. To answer OP's question on why people in FFX CTY prefer AP to IB: many reasons. It's harder, has many requirements, it is (mostly) in the lower SES/lower performing schools and parents choose the best-performing school they can (and some conflate the IB and AP with that correlation). Parents interested in rigorous education for their kids should research both options in more substantive ways than reading anonymous forums.[/quote]

Excellent - thanks for providing the context.  It's interesting how an anonymous forum can generate such extremes of good and terrible information/opinion...    I really wonder if Langley would reject IB if they were sure it would not open the gates to pupil placement.  As it is Langley and McLean students pupil place to Marshall to take IB - so there is some demand.  Of course, any single program is not for everyone and anyone considering these decisions must do some real work to understand the pros & cons.  [/quote]

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