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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]IB is a deal-breaker for me when we look for houses.  Not going to do it.  I was completely fine with it until I looked into it further.  There are a lot of kids who are full-force into IB ... and then they decide later that it's not worth it.  These are really motivated kids who for whatever reason decide not to finish it.  Yes, they can get college credits for each course, but they have to take all their exams at the end of senior year and several courses are two year courses -- who would want to commit to two years of a single course?  Even in college kids don't commit to two years.  Seems illogical that anyone would expect a 16 yr. old to commit to a course that long.

In theory, the IB program looks fantastic -- with the capstone and the community service and global thinking... but in practice, it just seems like it doesn't work for the vast majority of kids who are excellent students and very motivated when they start the program.

I also know of a family where they had to make an unexpected military move after the first year of a two year course and the kid wouldn't be going to an IB school once they moved... guess what... no credit for the class he just spent a YEAR on.

In practice, I think most teens are better suited to taking a la carte AP classes.   As a parent, I like what IB promises... but seems like it doesn't deliver (or the kids can't/don't deliver the final IB degree very often).

There are a number of homes I would like in several IB school zones... but it's not gonna happen b/c of the IB program.[/quote]

You can take the IB courses a la carte for the same result as the AP a la carte. We know a lot of AP parents got upset when colleges but IB on equal footing as AP a few years a go because it threatens their housing values and choice to shun IBs. Get over it.[/quote]

I think you and PP are talking past each other.  Students now can often get similar course credit for good scores on IB exams as they can for for good scores on AP exams.  That's different from addressing which program is viewed as a better fit for more kids.  In FCPS, it's AP.  That why Woodson rejected IB, you don't see parents at Langley, McLean or Madison pushing for IB, and the number of IB diploma candidates is so low at most of the schools in FCPS that have IB.  I will say that, if the OP decides IB is right for her kid, she's lucky because he/she will go to either Marshall or South Lakes, and they have two of the better IB programs in the county.   
 [/quote]

I'm so glad we have someone like you around to tell us what the best fit for our kids is. [/quote]

I have no idea what the best fit is for your kids.  But, county-wide, there's been a clear preference for AP for some time.  Judging from the low number of students at some IB schools pursuing IB diplomas, it seems like FCPS would be better off having IB at a smaller number of schools than is presently the case. [/quote]

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