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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][url]https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/12/16/finding-classroom-rigor-in-a-global-curriculum/advanced-placement-is-a-better-option-for-us-schools[/url]

[b]Advanced Placement Is a Better Option for U.S. Schools[/b]
by [i]Patrick Welsh, a retired teacher, taught English at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va. DECEMBER 16, 2013[/i]

[quote]...First off all, the I.B. program is expensive. Jay Mathews, a Washington Post education writer, estimates that it costs high schools about $56,000 a year to run an I.B.

And for all puffery about the prestige of an I.B. diploma, in many schools the majority of I.B. students end up with only meaningless I.B. certificates awarded to anyone who pays for and takes an I.B. exam regardless of whether he or she passes.

The International Baccalaureate is also more prescriptive than Advance Placement, boxing in teachers and forcing them to teach courses such as epistemology, the last thing most high school students need.

Perhaps most important, with college tuitions rising, high scores on A.P. exams are awarded more college credit than scores on I.B. tests. I have known students who have saved parents thousands in tuition by gaining a full year of college credit after acing A.P. exams.[/quote]

Lot's of differing opinions on IB curriculum. Surely fully worthy of more debate for Jefferson Houston Elementary K-8 given IB cost to ACPS and we taxpayers, as well as traditional AP credits earned in high school keeping down future college going JH students college cost. H/T to Ms. Floyd for responding![/quote]

You should be happy to know that Alexandria's only high school is not IB and does offer AP classes.[b] How is AP vs IB relevant to the value of the primary years programme?[[/b]/quote]

Great question pp. As educators here in Alexandria City, we know that IB at Jefferson Houston if like reaching for the moon when learning to walk not run. It is an incredibly complex educational program compared to traditional education. I don't know for sure, but I suspect IB at JH is an attempt to pull in upper middle class families in the City: a draw card. Given our track record at J-H, which still is not accredited, IB is a leap rather than well thought out. Seems to be a recurring theme here in Alexandria, and IB is very costly to our City who needs capital funds for buildings and common sense academic leadership towards simple J-H accreditation after ALL these years!

Put the ACPS money into teacher salaries instead![/quote]

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