IB predict grade

Parents Forum
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<p>robyrm2 - do the schools not offer a “non-IB” option?</p>

<p>Our last international school was a full IB school (PYP, MYP, DP), but the students had 3 options: (1) earn the school’s HS diploma and complete the full IB diploma, (2) earn the school’s HS diploma and earn IB certificates, or (3) earn the school’s HS diploma. </p>

<p>Not very many students chose the last option, but it was available. For those students, they took all the same classes as the others (the school was very small), but they did not have to complete any of the IB requirements. They simply had to fullfil the school’s graduation requirements.</p>

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<p>D2 was admitted to her new school’s IB program when she entered Junior year. She actually found the courses to be less challenging than her honors or regular courses at her previous private school (they didn’t start taking APs until junior year). What she doesn’t like about IB is it is too rigid, the writing style dictated by IB, which takes away a lot of creativity. Even science is more dictated by the format of how labs should be written. A lot of busy work. </p>

<p>When D2 went back to her old school, they asked her about the IB program because they were thinking about implementing at their school. She said absolutely not.</p>

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<p>My D started IB in 6th grade and went through middle school and high school with essentially the same 100 kids. Like about two-thirds of that group, she ended up getting a certificate rather than a diploma. But all 100 took the same IB classes, did Internal Assessments, took Theory of Knowledge, did CAS, and took the tests (D did 6). The only difference was that the diploma kids did the Extended Essay. </p>

<p>I could not agree with you more. In addition to the academic rigor, which is essential for keeping bright kids engaged in school, I think IB’s global perspective is extremely valuable and will only become more so during our childrens’ lifetime. In addition, IB does an effective job at teaching critical and analytical thinkiing, and the kids get really good at both written and veral communication which stands them in good stead for college and beyond. Also, IB really does prepare kids for the academics of college. And of course, no one survives IB without learning time management skills!</p>

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<p>“BTW, my D says that if she is going to do all the extra work, she better get the diploma!”</p>

<p>It really turns out to not be a lot of extra work, if you are already involved in ECs - that would meet the CAS requirement, anyway.</p>

<p>The IB paper is only worth 2 points. You can avoid wasting a lot of time on the IB paper if you remember its value.</p>

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<p>In 6th grade, they determine if a kid is on an IB track or not? If a kid is not in IB and it is determined to be the most rigorous course load, then a kid would have a very slim chance of getting into a top tier college? </p>

<p>D2 went straight into IB as a junior and didn’t find it to be particularly challenging, but just more restrictive. I am actually more worried that D2 wouldn’t be as prepared for college as D1, who didn’t do IB in high school.</p>

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<p>oldfort, our district has MYP (grades 6-10) and Diploma (11-12). D was invited into the program during 5th grade based on STAR tests and teacher reccs. </p>

<p>It is indeed the most rigorous curriculum at that HS, and you’re right; non-IB kids from that school would not be credible applicants at selective colleges. But that’s always true for most rigorous program, isn’t it?</p>

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<p>Yes, but at other school systems, it is usually not until 9th or 10th greade when it is determined if they were on the most rigorous curriculum track.</p>

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<p>I see what you mean. In our district, kids CAN come into IB in 9th grade. Most of them didn’t last, though, for whatever reason, and the ones that did usually came from outside the district.</p>

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<p>parent1986, the IB students now have to pass both EE and TOK…the EE is not quite the blow-off it used to be. I will say, the advice we got was accurate: FOLLOW THE RUBRIC regarding formatting, footnotes, consistent style, etc. A surprising number of points are awarded for knowing HOW to write a research paper vs. the content. </p>

<p><a href=“http://bvsd.org/schools/centaurus/library/IB%20EE%20Title%20Page%20Abstract%20and%20Table%20of%20Contents%20Ex/Scoring%20boundaries%20diploma%20matrix%202010.pdf[/url]”>http://bvsd.org/schools/centaurus/library/IB%20EE%20Title%20Page%20Abstract%20and%20Table%20of%20Contents%20Ex/Scoring%20boundaries%20diploma%20matrix%202010.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As for schools giving out predicted scores of 45 (!) if the student has As in IB courses…there were 96 students worldwide who got that perfect score in 2010. Do not assume your student will have a mega score just because he/she does well in class. </p>

<p>Mean score worldwide: 29.55. Get a 40 and you’re at the 96th percentile. Percentage of students who got all three bonus points: 9.47%. Percentage of students who got an A on the TOK: 5.44%. These stats come from the report linked below (mainly pages 38-end).</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ibo.org/facts/statbulletin/dpstats/documents/May2010Statisticalbulletin.pdf[/url]”>500;

<p>S2’s school averaged a 35-36 with a near 100% graduation rate, and that is considered extremely good. Also remember that US students applying to domestic schools do not have to rely on their IB scores for admittance to college. That is not the case in other countries. The stakes are not quite as high, and by the end of senior year, I can tell you my S did not care how he did on most of his IB exams, other than passing them. He was not alone among his classmates in that regard. He took the corresponding AP exams for all of his SLs and two of the HLs where he really wanted a good score, and that strategy worked quite well.</p>

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<p>The IB program was developed to be ‘transferrable’- so that students could move between schools and countries (students with mobile lifestyles) without a hitch. But, in fact (and I am very familiar with many IB schools) some schools have pre-requisites in grade 10, others don’t, some have 3 year science higher classes, some have 2 year higher science classes, some schools have Economics, some have Business studies some have none of these…etc. In other words, it is still a bit of a crap shoot if indeed a student can be mobile. There are international schools (which is what I am most familiar with) that have the option of other programs (AP, general HS diploma, IB certificate) and some that have only the IB diploma. </p>

<p>In the last case, where the schools have only the IB diploma, there are schools which exit students who have been in their school for 10+ years before grade 11- student who might not be able to do well enough to get a diploma because, these schools with such a meaningful ‘global orientation’ do not feel any sense of obligation to the students they have educated.</p>

<p>The world begins with the person next to you in class- not with some child in Somalia. Until we get back to a better understanding of this-- because this is the foundation of decency-- then I believe that all the CAS etc that these kids do only prepares them to be ‘elites’ and not ‘global.’ I have a lot of objections to IB, in fact, but this is my biggest one… </p>

<p>I think it is very interesting that so many of the fine prep schools in the US have not adopted IB programs. My feeling is this represents the fact that they have confidence in their faculty to be better able to determine what is important for their students then a committee in Belgium can. Any curriculum is only as good as the teacher who is teaching it and only as meaningful as the students who are learning it can understand. IB is being exalted to a degree that defies the reality of the ‘specialness’ of the program…particularly in the absence of a great teacher. </p>

<p>What is so special about the time management demands of IB? Any HS student who is overloaded with school work has to do the same amount of time management. If you are concerned that your 16 or 17 year old is getting too much sleep, just have them take an extra class. Then they can have the same life changing experience that IB diploma students get. </p>

<p>The HS my sons went to had IB and AP and a regular HS diploma. In some cases these were the same classes in fact. Their counselor tried to convince them and us that they had to do ‘full IB’ to be competitive for colleges. Well, neither did full IB and one went to a top LAC and the other an Ivy. So, that was clearly not true. Both managed time well, both were very successful both in HS and college without having to get caught up in the mechanisms of the whole program. They could pick and choose. Furthermore, some of the most talented teachers at their school chose not to teach IB, which is why they chose AP (for English, for example)-- </p>

<p>IB is now huge. Paying for IB is not cheap. Since any given student can only either do IB or not do IB… how exactly does anyone know it is so darn wonderful??</p>

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<p>I do not think that IB is especially wonderful – even though one of my two kids chose to do it.</p>

<p>But in many school systems, IB serves an important purpose. It offers serious students a welcome alternative to a not-very-rigorous regular curriculum, as well as the opportunity to take most of their classes in the company of others who also take academics seriously. And unlike some elite magnet schools (such as Stuyvesant and TJ), it does not cater exclusively to the math- and science-minded. </p>

<p>Could the same things be accomplished with a home-grown program? Sure. And this is exactly what most private prep schools (and some public magnets) have done. They have created their own curriculum, which is comparable to IB in rigor, and they have attracted their own student body, which is comparable to an IB class in ability and attitude. Why would they want to switch to a program where outside authorities dictate their every move when they have the resources to create something of similar quality themselves and run it as they see fit?</p>

<p>But most public school systems cannot create a program comparable in quality to IB from scratch. Their priorities do not allow them to set aside the resources that would be needed for such an effort; they have other things to do.</p>

<p>In my opinion, IB is not special because it is IB. It’s special because of the people (both teachers and students) that it brings together and because it offers something that’s academically stronger than the standard U.S. high school education. The actual content of IB is secondary, at least to my way of thinking.</p>

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<p>“parent1986, the IB students now have to pass both EE and TOK…the EE is not quite the blow-off it used to be.”</p>

<p>I didn’t say they didn’t have to pass EE and TOK. My kids managed their time as they were instructed, and I didn’t say EE was a blow off course. </p>

<p>This thread is turning into unpleasant (IMO) criticism of the IB program. Don’t drag me into it. My children had a good experience with the program, I have nothing negative to say about IB or the quality of their education.</p>

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<p>I just think there has to balance in the IB worship that is taking place not just in the US but worldwide. IT is simply not the be-all and end all and as mentioned, it is very expensive for schools to deliver and administer. In the schools I have known the program has been in use for 15+ years and obviously it meets the needs of some. </p>

<p>Education trends tend to swing like a pendulum… this too shall pass (maybe).</p>

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<p>Back in the day when you had to turn in an EE to get the IB diploma but your EE did not have to earn a passing grade, some students did indeed blow it off. In fact, some considered blowing it off to be good time management! But since it is now necessary to receive a passing grade on the EE to get the diploma, blowing it off is no longer an option.</p>

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<p>In our D’s school, students commit to the IB diploma in junior year, 9th and 10th are pre-IB. The students take a combination of AP/IB junior year, IB HL senior year. It works (90%+ diploma rate). And for the right kid, they love it, it offers challenge and the chance to excell. There is a difference between AP and IB…D much prefers her IB to the AP classes. She’s looking forward to senior year.</p>

<p>I agree that IB is not for everyone, but few educational options are a good fit for every student.</p>