Reply to Any dc high schools with IB programs and should i care?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Agree with PP - kids who are strong in math/science do better with AP than IB. You can always mix and match so you take some IB and some AP, but I would not encourage a kid who was strong in math/science to get the IB diploma. AP science classes tend to go into more depth in particular than IB science classes. However, for a kid who is into the humanities and loves writing, IB is great. [/quote]

I’m in a science field and disagree.  You don’t need to focus so much on math and science in high school.  Plenty of time in college and beyond.

It’s more important to develop strong writing, which is lacking in public schools.  The people who rise up in the ranks in the STEM fields are not the ones strongest in the sciences.  It’s the ones who are strong on the soft skills and humanities side with writing, communicating, etc…[/quote]

The science and math AP courses are very strong.
They do a great job of challenging students and pushing them to develop critical thinking and abstract reasoning skills.
And it is not like you cannot learn how to write through AP courses.
Some of the science APs like AP physics 1 are less about solving calculations and more about giving clear descriptive paragraph length answers. You learn how to express your thoughts in a logical sequence that is concise and has the appropriate flow of ideas. All the AP History courses do a great job of teaching students how to write. Same with AP English Language and Literature. Of course, this is all assuming you have reasonable teachers who know the subject. 
[/quote]

Not necessarily.  When you have AP courses with 30-35 students there is not a lot of writing involved or any feedback on what little writing there is.  It’s also very teacher dependent. Also with AP, kids can choose what courses they want and they might not take any AP English courses, etc..

Even if you have to write a paragraph answer on a test for one AP course, the writing just is not adequate when you compare it to IB.  There are no multiple choice tests at all.  All the tests, in every subject, involves writing and analysis even in science and math.  It’s alot of writing and critical thinking and much less emphasis on memorization.  In addition, it’s graded by a 3rd party so there is no easy pass or grade inflation possible.  [/quote]

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