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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Among the schools that offer both AP and IB, about 2/3 of the students choose AP and 1/3 IB. You can argue the students vote with their feet and follow the more beneficial program. For the exams, IB has a higher passing rate, possibly indicating that it attracts stronger students.

It seems redundant to offer both, not sure the IB diploma is that much more of an indicator of rigorous high school coursework and they are essentially equivalent. For people that like to have choices, it’s probably worth keeping it.

The regional IB programs feel somewhat of a second rate choice, the very strong students don’t need it, and they seem to have a very persistent marketing pitch.

In conclusion, meh.

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This but our school has few AP classes and no advanced math after calculus which is a huge issue. [/quote]

There’s no advanced math after [b]IB HL Calculus[/b] either. I’m willing to bet that the AP offering at your school is better than what’s offered in the IB program.[/quote]
It's not called IB HL Calc.  It's call IB HL Math Analysis, which is a two year course that covers a few years worth of math using applications. It delves much deeper into the math concepts that regular math classes.

https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/5895a05412144fe890312bad52b17044/subject-brief-dp-math-analysis-and-approaches-en.pdf[/quote]

They offer this at Kennedy, to the best of my knowledge. Am I wrong? I have the dumb math kid who is in the SL version.

I'm really tired of hearing my kid's high school get bashed by people who would never send their kids there regardless. Hearing you bash Ms. Davis and the other teachers who have invested so much of their time into our kids is also disheartening. One thing I think most of you don't understand (I suspect most of you never had the luxury of understanding), is learning for its own sake is important. We didn't want our kid to take IB to go to a "top college," or keep up with W schools, we wanted them to go because the classes would challenge and interest them and play to their strengths. We wanted them to do IB because writing is something they do best. Taking AP exams is joyless. Learning, and learning how to learn is part of what makes an adaptable, well-rounded member of society who can find a job and be a good person.

When our kid got into Kennedy and not RMIB I was relieved. I didn't want them in a toxic pressure cooker in the first place, I wanted them in a collaborative learning environment with peers and teachers that "got" them. Kennedy has given us that. In fact, I'm not sure another high school in the DCC could have done it as well. I must note we are zoned for Blair, so that was an option.

I really liked the former principal. He came from a middle school that holds a 2E program, and he told me once that those were the kind of kids he thought could integrate into the IB: intense,  quirky kids with tons of potential who needed a smaller environment than the typical chaos of a Moco high school.

I still think he's right. Those kinds of kids (they don't have to be 2E) have thrived.

We don't have one of the high flyers at Kennedy IB. Our kid has struggled for grades at times (as far as I can tell they're *not* inflated, they don't do that at FARMS schools, where parents don't complain), but Kennedy's done a great job of meeting them where they're at. They turned in their ToK paper and it was fantastic. They've learned executive function. They take school seriously. They're happy.

And they've gotten into six colleges, all with merit, all ranked from the 50s to 100 in US News and World Report. We're still waiting to hear from the reaches.

I'm so tired of how toxic this place can be. How mean-spirited so many of you are about hard-working people doing their jobs, and minor children who are working so hard.

My kid's sitting for the IB diploma. They did the work. Will they pass? I don't know. I don't care. It was the experience that mattered, college credit is gravy. (Most of the schools they're applying to only give credit and don't let them out of core requirements anyway, so it doesn't matter as much. If some of you looked beyond state schools you'd find that true at most of the better slacs.)

Again, six merit offers. Happy kid. I know there's a lot of you who can't say the same.

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