Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does a kid have to start the IB track in middle school, or can it just be high school?

IB is for high school (11-12th grade). First two years are called "pre-IB." No MYP requirement to do IB in high school.

This is correct and very helpful. However I also wanted to add that although the IB diploma program is only for the last two years of high school, it has prerequisite coursework that must be fulfilled in the first two years, grades 9 and 10, and thus careful course planning is necessary from 8th grade onward if the full IB diploma is on the student's radar. Ideally, a freshman (grade 9) Pre-IB schedule would include the following classes, for which one would have had to take any prerequisites at the middle school level:

Typical 9th grade schedule:
? Honors English 9
? Honors World History 9
? World Language, level 2
? Honors Biology
? Honors Geometry

If IB is something students are interested in, they should ideally plan their middle school coursework to make sure they will be eligible for AT LEAST the above classes in their first year of high school. The science, maths, and language sequences are particularly important since they have specific prerequisite courses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does a kid have to start the IB track in middle school, or can it just be high school?

IB is for high school (11-12th grade). First two years are called "pre-IB." No MYP requirement to do IB in high school.

Anonymous wrote:Does a kid have to start the IB track in middle school, or can it just be high school?

Anonymous wrote:12:00 - I read the sticky and still don't understand why you feel this thread is limited to FCPS. IB/MYP vs AP discussion is valuable discussion for all parents considering one vs the other. It really has nothing to do with where it is taught.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, here is a recent list of National Merit Semifinalists at FCPS schools: http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=2605

193 went to AP schools, and 12 went to IB schools. Even if you exclude the 129 students at TJ, which has AP and more advanced courses, but no IB, you'd have 64 students from AP schools and 12 from IB schools.

12 out of 205 National Merit Semifinalists is underwhelming when you consider that (1) almost 1/3 of FCPS high school students attend IB schools now and (2) NMSFs are based primarily on the critical reading and writing scores (2/3 of the total) not math scores (1/3 of the total). You would think IB schools would be better represented if IB was superior at teaching critical reading and writing skills.

In any event, the MYP is not necessary to get an IB diploma in HS. The main goal of the MYP program is to get the students on the IB bandwagon sooner and increase the odds they'll pursue an IB diploma.

This is a silly way to measure which one is better. Case in point, MoCo RM high school has 34 NMSF kids this year out of about 500 (then) junior kids. All 34 are from RM's magnet IB program which is about 100 kids (out of 500). Every signle one of them - 34 out of 100 kids made NMSF even with MD's higher cutoff score than VA (221 vs 219). So, does that make IB better than AP?

Most of the posters seem to be in FFX. There are no magnet IB programs in FCPS so RM isn't relevant unless they are planning to move to Maryland.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, here is a recent list of National Merit Semifinalists at FCPS schools: http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=2605

193 went to AP schools, and 12 went to IB schools. Even if you exclude the 129 students at TJ, which has AP and more advanced courses, but no IB, you'd have 64 students from AP schools and 12 from IB schools.

12 out of 205 National Merit Semifinalists is underwhelming when you consider that (1) almost 1/3 of FCPS high school students attend IB schools now and (2) NMSFs are based primarily on the critical reading and writing scores (2/3 of the total) not math scores (1/3 of the total). You would think IB schools would be better represented if IB was superior at teaching critical reading and writing skills.

In any event, the MYP is not necessary to get an IB diploma in HS. The main goal of the MYP program is to get the students on the IB bandwagon sooner and increase the odds they'll pursue an IB diploma.

This is a silly way to measure which one is better. Case in point, MoCo RM high school has 34 NMSF kids this year out of about 500 (then) junior kids. All 34 are from RM's magnet IB program which is about 100 kids (out of 500). Every signle one of them - 34 out of 100 kids made NMSF even with MD's higher cutoff score than VA (221 vs 219). So, does that make IB better than AP?

Anonymous wrote:FYI, here is a recent list of National Merit Semifinalists at FCPS schools: http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=2605

193 went to AP schools, and 12 went to IB schools. Even if you exclude the 129 students at TJ, which has AP and more advanced courses, but no IB, you'd have 64 students from AP schools and 12 from IB schools.

12 out of 205 National Merit Semifinalists is underwhelming when you consider that (1) almost 1/3 of FCPS high school students attend IB schools now and (2) NMSFs are based primarily on the critical reading and writing scores (2/3 of the total) not math scores (1/3 of the total). You would think IB schools would be better represented if IB was superior at teaching critical reading and writing skills.

In any event, the MYP is not necessary to get an IB diploma in HS. The main goal of the MYP program is to get the students on the IB bandwagon sooner and increase the odds they'll pursue an IB diploma.