<p>It’s funny that you brought up IB>>> my D has been in one school since kindergarten. Until last year, I thought the school was the BEST! After a lot of research,we made what some call a drastic move to the public sector solely for the purpose of IB. My D really enjoys the program and enjoys the true sense of learning from it. Since it has only been in our area for about 5 years, i feel very lucky to have discovered it.
As you said, every child learns differently and that should always be in the back of our minds as we, the parents, guide our children through their education.</p>
<p>Ah, IB. I am not a fan of our local IB program. I think there are some IB programs which are terrific and when run well, can add a wonderful dimension to a students education. And then there are those that add lots of stress to a students life without adding any benefits on at the end i.e. not enough juice for the squeeze. D2 is on the IB track but I am hoping (after speaking with a few of the kids/parents of D1s class who were IB) that she decides not to go forward with it after sophomore year. I am leaving it up to her discretion, but for the life of me I can’t see how it helped a single kid I know who graduated this month. And that’s before they find out how many didn’t get the IB diploma…</p>
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<p>Mine was rejected too 
The professor told him he was the best candidate but the grant rules have to be followed…</p>
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<p>Agree, absolutely agree. Please do not judge us by what we post here.
We are NORMAL people in real life…</p>
<p>Oh, my kid is loving his IB program so far…</p>
<p>OK, having said that…the school year is almost over but we are still awaiting final grades and some of it is tricky, really tricky…</p>
<p>Driving the state team to ARML competition on Friday…wish them luck! They made it to division A last year, so no real chances for awards this time 
:)</p>
<p>I am a recovering 
academic chemist. It is in my nature to research every.thing.in.endless.detail. You should see my vaction planning spreadsheets :eek: 
My laptop absorbs all my stress and compulsion so I don’t share it with my family!</p>
<p>Good luck to the team Kelowna!</p>
<p>LuckyGirl is taking her bio final today (a week early than the scheduled “science” final slot). She’s right on the bubble between a B and an A, hoping that this will push her over. She had a rough first semester (lowish B) when my mom died and she was suffering from food-related headaches.</p>
<p>Oh KLucky; I’ve saved my folders from previous Walt Disney World vacations with the various documents & plans…I go a little overboard there too. That’s why the last two vacations have been at all inclusives :)</p>
<p>So hard to believe that I am now the parent of a sophomore. Boy, did this year go by fast.</p>
<p>DD ended her Freshman year with a cumulative 3.476- we were hoping for at least a 3.5 but she ended up with a B in her language class and choir. Not sure how you get B in choir- but she had A’s or A-'s in all other academic subjects.</p>
<p>She’s taking a pretty full course load next year so I hope she doesn’t dip too much- she wants to go to private college so she is going to need the academic money!</p>
<p>Good luck Team Kelowna!</p>
<p>I’d have to sum up d’s Pre-IB/MYP experience as mixed. She’s still trying to tell me that she didn’t learn anything new this year, I don’t believe her. She has really shined in Human Geography, though she won’t admit it, the subject matter has really touched on a lot of areas of interest to her and has allowed her to very loudly express her opinions on all manner of things, and boy, does she have opinions! The biggest advantage that I can see sitting in the parent chair, is that most of her classes only have about 15 kids in them. Lots of personal attention - gotta love that!</p>
<p>Just wanted to congratulate all those who already have sophomores and to thank those on this thread for all the valuable information disseminated. My D still has two more weeks to go and then we’re headed to my oldest nephew’s wedding:) Safe and happy travels to all this summer.</p>
<p>Kelowna: good luck to your team. I just did same for my S yesterday, he’s done this for 4 years: 2 years on team B and 2 years on team A, both teams are on division A, this is his last year and last competition in his high school life, he enjoyed this very much. My D just does not like math at all.
AP scores are supposed to be back on July I believe, but I am not sure how this is going to impact an individual’s GPA and raking, it will be calculated differently in different schools and different districts I guess. My S is graduated, but I am still puzzled how the AP scores are incorporated into GPA and class ranking, am I a dummy parent? :)</p>
<p>nerdydad: you’re not a dummy parent 
I can only tell you how our district handles it; might not be the same as yours. Since AP scores come out so long after final grades come in (our school year ends in May) AP scores have no bearing on, and are not reported anywhere in official school records. Not in the GPA and not in class rankings. If a student takes an AP exam they are exempt from a school final exam. However, an AP class average is weighted during the school year so a student gets a bump in both the number grade & gpa points for taking an AP class vs. a regular and/or honors class. And that stays whether they get a 1 or a 5 on the exam. </p>
<p>AP scores are reported to colleges on July 1st, but it usually takes a week or so for them to arrive at the student’s home.</p>
<p>Kelowna - Good Luck! Report back how the team does.</p>
<p>I have found my peeps here! I too am a research addict, vacation spreadsheet sorta gal. Used to drive my family bunkers – but thanks to the portability of the laptop, I’m a closet planner/researcher nut now. </p>
<p>Today’s the last “real” school day for my 2013 kid – exams next week followed by class night & “required” graduation attendance for all 9th-12th. I’m more anxious for finals then he is as his finals grade will determine the letter grade in 2 classes.</p>
<p>Now - what to do with a long summer</p>
<p>^^I’ll be reading this summer: I just found out that our library has a summer reading program for ADULTS You can get prizes for reading certain amounts! At least one is from a schmancy local restaurant that makes FABULOUS gelato, so when LuckyYoungest hits that level for the kid reading program, we’ll enjoy our free gelato together :)</p>
<p>I don’t know how LuckyGirl’s school handles weighting for AP classes (her school is very confusing, so this summer I’ll have to spend time with the handbook/website LOL) but at LuckyBoy '11’s school, AP classes receive a larger “bump” than even the Honors classes. I <em>think</em> .4 is added versus .3, though I could be wrong. </p>
<p>Anyway, every school/district is different. Colleges will know that as they receive the school’s whatchamacallit (sorry, not enough coffee yet) with the application, explaining grading blah blah blah. I’ve given up trying to compare weighted grades here on CC as it was getting too confusing.</p>
<p>Off to find the coffee…</p>
<p>Kelowna- Good luck and make sure you let us know how it goes.</p>
<p>As far as grades go our state has a uniform grading scale. This scale is used by every district in the state so at least in state you pretty much know where you stand.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.richlandone.org/resources/parent_resources/grading/South%20Carolina%20Uniform%20Grading%20Policy.pdf[/url]”>http://www.richlandone.org/resources/parent_resources/grading/South%20Carolina%20Uniform%20Grading%20Policy.pdf</a></p>
<p>I think there are a couple of other states that have a scale similar to this.</p>
<p>In our district, honors courses have 3 points added to the marking period average and AP classes have 5 points added to the marking period average. So a 93 in a regular class stays a 93; an honors class is bumped to a 96 and an AP class is bumped to a 98. There are also additional quality points added to the gpa number. Honors classes get an additional .5 points and AP/IB classes get a 1 point bump. I’ve finally got it down now after 4 years ;)</p>
<p>D is off to a mini journalism camp tomorrow through Wednesday. She’s getting ready to pack soon.</p>
<p>RobD: Thanks for explanations. But I am more confused. In your post#430, you said AP scores won’t affect GPA and class ranking, but this later post#434, you are talking about adding points to final score and adding “additional quality points” to GPA…</p>
<p>nerdyDad, when an AP course is taken, the student gets a high school grade for his work in the actual class throughout the year. It is this grade that is a part of your GPA and is usually weighted by most schools. At my D’s school, AP courses are weighted one full point. In May, the AP exam is taken and the student scores between a 1-5 on this end of course test. Grades between 3-5 can earn the student college credit, but this grade is not a part of the high school GPA.</p>
<p>Sorry nerdydad, I can see how I added confusion! Basically what blueshoe said Those additional points on both the average and the GPA are added long before an AP test score comes in. How a student does on the actual AP test in May doesn’t affect those points (i.e. they don’t get subtracted if a kid does poorly on the AP test.)</p>
<p>Just taking the AP class adds the boost to the average and GPA. So taking AP classes can boost the GPA & class ranking, not the results on the AP test in May. Does that make more sense?</p>
<p>That’s pretty much how it’s done at my '11’s school, with the added wrinkle that if the boy does not take the AP exam in May, the extra points added on to the GPA are taken away.</p>
<p>LuckyGirl '13 will take her first AP sophomore year (US History) so I’ll see how her school handles the situation.</p>
<p>KLucky, Love the idea of an adult summer reading program! If you enjoy the company of readers, you might want to join Goodreads.com. I have found it a lot of fun to read the reviews of others and learn about new books.
Re. IB, I used to be skeptical because, unlike APs taken prior to senior year, there was no way to know the results of the IB exams before applying to college. However, I have learned that it is actually a good deal for college applications because schools assume that candidates will pass. My 2012 daughter did AP psychology in a summer program and scored a 5 on the exam her freshman year so her school let her take HL psychology her sophomore year with the seniors. She loved it and thought it was much more challenging than an AP course because it required a research project. While she only scored a 5/7 and earned a certificate since she is going to a new school for junior and senior year that does not offer IB, I still think that it was a very good experience for her. Her younger brother is officially in the class of 2014 but is entering high school with 16 credits earned during middle school so he could be in the class of 2013 if he chooses.</p>
<p>RobD and blueshoe: Thanks for explanation. Now I am clear how a AP class and its final score are handled by schools. I really appreciate your patient with a not-so-smart parent. BTW, AP classes and scores are not counted as credit in the college that my S is going to.</p>
<p>ARML: my S’s team came back with 14th on division A, he got an ARML team high scorer medal but one point shy from national award, he said this year’s ARML test was really tough, his score was 2 point lower than his usual team performance, everybody feels same. Kids played plenty of card games during the competition, obviously having had a good time. Kelowna: how did your team feel about the ARML competition?</p>
<p>I still have not found anything for my D to do this summer. She is taking 2 AP next year: World History and Statistics. Psychology is interesting but the class is full and is giving privilege choice to junior and senior students first.</p>