What high school teachers are saying about International Baccalaureate (IB)
July 7, 2011
These remarks are from “Beyond IB Puffery, a work in progress”, a compilation of news and blog articles, quotes, and commentaries about the International Baccalaureate program. (Used with permission. Emphasis added by compiler.)
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IB Diploma Program (DP) – remarks by IB teachers
Note to readers: “SL” refers to “Standard Level”; “HL” refers to “Higher Level.”
[Oregon] “Teacher Knows Best,” Aug 18, 2010, Truth About IB website, http://www.truthaboutib.com/breakingnewsopinions.html
“I taught IB and AP chemistry and biology at several international schools. IB and AP should not be seen as the same, especially the SL courses, which are very rudimentary in both chem and bio. The HL courses are only slightly more difficult and only touch on college level topics. These topics are not at the same depth as those in the corresponding AP courses. The IB is getting far too much credit (undeserved) for being at the cutting edge in education. However, my biggest problem with IB is their internal assessment portion of the course. The process is contrived, very subjective and is in my opinion an enormous waste of time for both students and teachers.”
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[Maryland] “A place in Public Education,” by tmilz, Sept. 1, 2008, http://tmilz.blogtownhall.com/
Excerpt: I entered the seminar room about 15 minutes before the lecture began, aware that I would miss the night’s fireworks but interested in hearing how International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) would expound on “International Mindedness,” one of the organization’s stated goals. At my early-July teacher training in beautiful Montezuma, New Mexico, this seminar opened my eyes to the fact that IBO is more ideological than educational. Moreover, it sent me on moral and ethical quest as I began to question the role of public education, the morality of a program such as IBO in our public schools, my appropriate response to the program in my school, and how I will handle the schooling of my own children.
Dr. Steve Hreha, a physicist from Montreal and an IBO lecturer, spoke. His presentation was rooted in moral relativism, the worldview that morality is relative, or what is true for one person/group is not necessarily true for another person/group. He instructed that we cannot make value judgements regarding cultural practices. Rather, we must seek to understand the cultural backgrounds and reasons for such practices. This worldview has indeed become popular in our current post-modern age; but it is not the validity of moral relativism with which I must contend. Instead, my concern lies in the fact that a single worldview is given to IBO teachers (all IBO teachers must attend conferences such as this) as necessary instruction in their respective IBO classes.
It is a shame when education in skills and thinking is replaced by the presentation of a single worldview. Indoctrination cannot, in a society which truly aspires to individual liberty, be substituted for education. . . . [. . .] The irony of values-based curriculum instruction is not wasted on this observer, for as a nation, we have spent the last sixty years trying get rid of the teaching of solely one set of values, attempting to clearly delineate, for example, the boundary between church and state. Yet, under the guise of global citizenry, IBO now does the exact same thing, preaching a gospel of its own values, its own religion.
IBO operates with the stated goal to develop global citizens, taking stands on everything from environmentalism to international diplomacy to population control. At my training, in a subject as seemingly objective as Calculus, I was encouraged to fill my curriculum with word problems that demonstrate an underlying agenda for the program – declining animal populations, the dangers of pollutants, global warming, etc. Would this technique be viewed innocuous by the school board if I were to give word problems that focus on the percentage of international terrorists that is Muslim or examine the statistical the correlation between higher gun control and higher crime levels?
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Physics Forums | Thread for: IB (“International Boondoggle”), Feb 10-11, 12:20 PM
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=3130142
Excerpt: “. . . It [IB Diploma Program] is horrifically and unnecessarily expensive. The tests use up a ridiculous amount of paper (a single muliple choice question on one page is common). Each and every year, there is at least one egregious error in the exam (often more than that), so bad that the question has to be thrown out completely. Several questions (such as the friction question) demonstrate one person within the IBO that has a tiny axe to grind, or a unimportant hair to split. One multiple choice question a few years back was: ‘What’s the proper definition of displacement: A–the straight line distance, including direction, between the position of an object and a point of reference; B–the change in position, including direction, of an object relative to a point of reference [C and D were throw-away wrong choices].’ They did the same thing with ‘Latent Heat,’ where if you didn’t make the distinction between that and ‘Specific Latent Heat’ you would get it wrong.
They also change the curriculum around every few years, requiring a teacher to be ‘retrained’ over the summer in some too-hot place like Las Vegas or Ft. Lauderdale. I went to two ‘re-trainings’ in 6 years, and chewed through about $8000 in flight, food, and hotel, to listen to a guy doing a presentation that I could have done myself (only better).
I taught many students in an AP class (and I went ‘beyond the test’) who went on to great success at MIT, Yale, WPI, RPI, FIT, and WTF — a good student will do well if you give them the goods, and those goods do not need to have the IB stamp on them.”
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(The following is from an evaluation by a CSU Professor of Mathematics)
[California] International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, Mathematics SL
David Klein, Professor of Mathematics, California State University, Northridge, Fall 2007
http://www.npe.ednews.org/Review/Reviews/v3n4.pdf
Excerpt: Conclusions
The SL program is clearly laid out, and the syllabus and assessments are well aligned. Two strengths of the Mathematics SL course are its breadth of coverage and focus on problem solving skills. For those students for whom this is the last mathematics course ever to be taken, the curriculum is well chosen. It provides a glimpse into several parts of mathematics along with some practical skills, especially in the area of statistics. On the other hand, if a student intends to take more mathematics courses at the university level, it is not clear how that student should be placed. What university mathematics courses have as prerequisites a small amount of calculus, but no exposure to complex numbers, almost no geometry, a spotty background in trigonometry, a smattering of linear algebra, and a good bit of statistics? Perhaps more statistics courses. The heavy reliance on calculators and virtually no memorization of formulas add to the deficits. In fairness to the IBO program, highly motivated students follow the more rigorous HL syllabus. While far more complete, and mathematically advanced, as noted previously there are nevertheless some gaps even at this level. However, students with the ability to complete such a demanding curriculum are likely able to fill in missing topics on their own.
The Mathematics SL course shares many of the defects of mainstream U.S. high school mathematics programs, but unlike other programs its external examination prevents degeneration of the course below the level of its syllabus.
Grades for Mathematics SL
Clarity: B
Content: C
Rigor (Mathematical Reasoning): D.
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(The following contains quotes from those who teach combined AP/IB courses)
[California] At BHS, AP/IB Courses Change How Classes are Taught
By Maya Emmons-Bell | Berkeley High Jacket | [Date ?]
http://www.bhsjacket.com/features/bhs_apib_courses_change_how_classes_are_taught
International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement classes are often thought of as being almost indistinguishable, so much so that they are often offered at Berkeley High School as combined classes, taught in one classroom. The two types of courses each provide accelerated learning opportunities and are considered a good way for students to get a taste of college–level material and to boost their transcripts. However, both programs are distinct with separate curricula. . . .
Tackling two challenging curricula in the short time allowed between the start of school and the day of the AP or IB test is a very daunting task for both teachers and students. “The AP kids have one reading list and the IB kids have another, with minimal overlap,” said Karla Herndon, BHS Latin teacher. “It forces us to split the class into two sections. It’s difficult because it’s hard for me to get to everyone.”
The lack of overlap is a complaint that students share as well. “It’s kind of annoying because we’re focusing on things that aren’t really part of the IB test and we haven’t covered a lot of material that will be on the test,” said Marnina Wirtschafter, an IB junior in AP/IB Chemistry. IB and AP classes are often combined because of the similar difficulty levels of the two curricula; students who pass either test can earn college credit for their work and while the approach and depth of the learning required differs, the two courses often share a significant amount of material.
Aaron Glimme, who teaches AP/IB Chemistry, has nine IB students preparing for the IB test in all his classes combined. When IB students are such a minority, it’s often difficult for teachers to balance their needs with what the rest of the class needs and the same is true of classes with few AP students. It also makes it impossible to create a separate IB class because a minimum number of students are required before a new course can be created. IB Biology teacher Nick Pleskac teaches IB Biology this year, but taught combined AP/IB courses last year. “Students are required to know the information and perform the skills on both syllabi. Therefore, teachers need to provide the opportunity to learn this content and these skills. Time becomes the factor. With our limited time, teachers have additional stress and if they are delivering the content [effectively], the students end up with the additional stress.” Pleskac added, “I do not think the combined course serves students well. [In IB Biology], students have a clearer understanding of what they are expected to learn. I believe the separate AP and IB courses serve students best for biology.”
While AP and IB courses are similar in difficulty and subject matter, they differ in many respects. IB students trying to earn the IB Diploma are required to take six IB distinct courses covering differentsubjects as part of the International Baccalaureate program. IB classes are usually more analytical and less fact–based than AP classes, and students are required to take them in many subjects, instead of being able to choose a few they are interested in. AP classes often focus on breadth of knowledge rather than depth and tend to not delve as deeply into the subject, but cover a larger amount of material. Each course culminates in a large test at the end of the year, although the AP tests are open to any student willing to pay the test fee, the IB tests are only for students who have participated in the corresponding IB class. The challenge of teaching these separate classes together stems from the different types of preparation needed to ready students for the AP or IB tests.
AP/IB Chemistry teacher Aaron Glimme passes out a large packet of supplementary work to all his IB students days after they finish the last chapter of chemistry subject matter that their AP peers will not be expected to know. Glimme’s IB students must also complete a few extra labs in order to meet IB requirements. “IB students need to design a few of their own experiments and labs, but I think this is a valuable skill, so I often have my AP students participate as well,” said Glimme. The combination of AP and IB classes does increase the scope of the material learned and also often provides IB students with the opportunity to take both the AP and IB tests if they choose. Whether or not students’ test grades suffer from the combination of AP and IB classes is relatively unknown at this point because of the low number of students at BHS who have participated in combined classes. With a limited budget, as well as the fact that many subjects don’t have enough IB kids to justify a separate class, it seems as though a combined AP/IB classes will continue to be taught at BHS for the foreseeable future.
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[California] Teachers protest IB program
By Mark McDermott | EasyReaderNews.com | Filed under Redondo Beach | March 24, 2011
http://www.easyreadernews.com/23459/redondo-international-baccalaureate/
Fifty teachers from Redondo Union High School stormed the Board of Education Tuesday night to protest the implementation of the International Baccalaureate program.
The group included a majority of the school’s department heads and some of the longest-tenured and most respected teachers at RUHS. Their concerns ranged from the cost of the program to what they argued was a lack of teacher input and a greater need to address the needs of less high-achieving students.
Linda Dillard, the chair of the school’s science department, told the school board that teachers have not been allowed to engage in a “data-driven, fact-finding process” to help determine if the program is a good fit for RUHS.
“The IB program has been dictated to the RUHS teachers by the administration,” Dillard said. “…In my 25 years at RUHS, I have never seen a program of this magnitude and economic impact forced upon teachers who are expected to deliver a high quality program without being given any input in the decision making. What do you think the chances of success are?”
[ . . . ]
. . . opposition to the IB program has emerged from the Redondo Union faculty. In January, 81 teachers signed a petition opposing the program’s implementation. Many of the teachers argue that the school already has a program in place – Advance Placement classes – that meets the needs of the students who would be attracted to IB. Instead, they point to the school’s lagging performance in the so-called “A through G” requirements that students need to enroll in the California state university system. According to a district report released last year, only 42 percent of RUHS students are meeting those requirements upon graduation.
History teacher Amber Keller told the board that even if the program attracted more students, it would do so at the expense of those already at the school.
“In doing this, we are essentially neglecting the needs of our students at RUHS who need our attention now,” she said.
Foreign languages department head Cynthia Leathers questioned spending money on IB in the midst of a budget crisis.
“The district has increased K-12 class size, proposed unpaid furlough days, and required all district employees to contribute more for their health benefits,” she said. “What fiscally responsible organization implements expensive programs when there is not enough money to cover the basics?”
Several teachers took exception to the notion that they represented a minority voice at RUHS and were essentially reluctant to embrace change. Math teacher Tim Baumgartner accused Superintendent Steven Keller of perpetuating this notion in public meetings and newspaper accounts.
“I am not afraid of change,” Baumgartner said. “We know that RUHS is not perfect, but IB does nothing to help in the areas where improvement is needed. . . .”
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[California] 50 Redondo Union Teachers Say No to IB
Teachers cite expense of program in a time of budget cuts, and say students who aren’t qualified for advanced coursework would get overlooked. | By Ed Pilolla | RedondoBeachPatch | March 23, 2011
http://redondobeach.patch.com/articles/50-redondo-union-teachers-say-no-to-ib
Excerpt: About 50 teachers from Redondo Union High School attended Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting in opposition to the International Baccalaureate program scheduled for implementation at the high school in 2012.
The teachers, including department chairs, said they oppose the cost of the IB program during a time of continued budget cuts. They also said it wasn’t needed at a school with an award-winning Advanced Placement program.
Excerpt: Cynthia Leathers, the foreign language department chair at RU, said that bringing IB to the school is not appropriate while increasing class sizes, proposing unpaid furlough days and requiring all district employees to contribute more to their health insurance.
“What fiscally responsible organization implements expensive programs when there’s not enough money for the basics?” Leathers said.
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[Missouri] Ozark Teacher Opposes IB Program
The Ozark School Board voted to implement the International Baccalaureate Program and the application process has begun, but an Ozark teacher is leading the opposition against IB
By Joanna Small | KSPR-TV | Oct 19, 2010.
http://articles.kspr.com/2010-10-19/ib-program_24143116
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[Missouri] Ozark High School IB costs more than worth
By Ronnie White, Ozark High School teacher | CCHeadliner.com | Oct. 13, 2010
http://ccheadliner.com/opinion/article_73f75670-d620-11df-a8d0-001cc4c03286.html
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[Nevada]Why a large majority of IHS faculty is wary of IB
By Steve Brown [science and AP teacher, Incline High School] | North Lake Tahoe BONANZA | May 18, 2010
http://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20100518/NEWS/100519901/1061&ParentProfile=1050
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[Massachusetts] International Baccalaureate to be delayed until 2013
By Neil Zolot / Correspondent | GateHouse News Service| June 7, 2009 @ 8:39 PM
[Note: the following excerpts from the article contain quotes from Marblehead High School English teacher Robin Feins. Feins spoke on behalf of the Faculty Forum during a School Committee meeting about the International Baccalaureate program.]
http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/education/x2085750913/International-Baccalaureate-to-be-delayed-until-2013
Excerpts: “Dr. Dulac’s announcement about IB at an English core meeting last month disturbed us,” Feins explained. “Dr. Dulac had originally told the faculty of MHS that an IB program had been postponed, and he has maintained the decision to bring IB to MHS will be the teachers’. However, he told the English Department at that meeting that three teachers would be sent to IB for training next year at a cost of $10,000. This is moving forward with the program, not postponing.”
She continued, “The faculty at MHS wishes to completely postpone IB and not invest any more money in it at all at this time or next year. The IB program at the High School is geared to fitting a maximum of 40 students, 20 juniors and 20 seniors. This is a rather expensive program to implement, and the faculty wishes to explore it thoroughly to be absolutely certain it’s worth the investment.”
Excerpt: “IB is not a proven commodity,” Feins said. “Teachers who visited the IB school at the Cape earlier this year did not find anything we don’t already do or couldn’t more cost effectively add ourselves for the entire student body. During the training at Rice University, participants were told the IB certificate was not accepted at American colleges and universities; only by taking the diploma track will credit be considered, and this track will cost more money.”
MCAS scores may also suffer, she noted.
“Our U.S. history course has been divided into sophomore and junior years to accommodate MCAS expectations,” she said. “Students taking IB their junior year will miss U.S. History II.”
She also said that Advance Placement is a superior alternative, in the teachers’ view.
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[Massachusetts] Teachers have concerns about I.B. program
Letter by Robin Feins [teacher, MHS president, Faculty Forum, Marblehead High School]
GateHouse News Servicie | Mar 30, 2009 @ 09:53 PM
http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/education/x1579105997/LETTER-Teachers-have-concerns-about-I-B-program
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[California] School district made right call on IB program
By Jeff McKinnon [former IB teacher at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School] | Santa Ynez Valley News | Mar. 5, 2010
http://www.syvnews.com/opinion/editorial/article_cd4ee3bb-0982-5175-b071-e51bccade34f.html
Excerpt: “. . . ABC+ President Michelle De Werd, in addition to being familiar with the brief but contentious history of IB on our campus, polled several of us who had taught it here last summer by e-mail, and she was told it is a program that serves few, benefits less, and actually creates achievement gaps between our high-end students and groups struggling because of language, social or economic difficulties.”
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[New Hampshire] Be Wary of the International Baccalaureate “Programme”
By Jane Aitken [retired teacher] | GraniteGrok | March 4, 2009 http://granitegrok.com/blog/un/
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[Arkansas] Our Concerns with the Implementation of the Magnet Schools and IB program at Jonesboro– Presentation Before the Jonesboro School Board, Feb. 13, 2007
By Debbie Pelley [retired teacher and an Arkansas Family Coalition representative]
http://www.wpaag.org/IB%20-%20Jonesboro%20Presentation%20magnet%20schs.htm
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[Arkansas] Jonesboro School District Backs off International Baccalaureate Program (IBP)
— but its philosophy lives on in the magnet school programs
http://www.wpaag.org/IB%20-%20Jonesboro%20Backs%20off%20IBO.htm
These remarks are from “Beyond IB Puffery, a work in progress”, a compilation of news and blog articles, quotes, and commentaries about the International Baccalaureate program. (Used with permission. Emphasis added by compiler.)
=======================================================
IB Diploma Program (DP) – remarks by IB teachers
Note to readers: “SL” refers to “Standard Level”; “HL” refers to “Higher Level.”
[Oregon] “Teacher Knows Best,” Aug 18, 2010, Truth About IB website, http://www.truthaboutib.com/breakingnewsopinions.html
“I taught IB and AP chemistry and biology at several international schools. IB and AP should not be seen as the same, especially the SL courses, which are very rudimentary in both chem and bio. The HL courses are only slightly more difficult and only touch on college level topics. These topics are not at the same depth as those in the corresponding AP courses. The IB is getting far too much credit (undeserved) for being at the cutting edge in education. However, my biggest problem with IB is their internal assessment portion of the course. The process is contrived, very subjective and is in my opinion an enormous waste of time for both students and teachers.”
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[Maryland] “A place in Public Education,” by tmilz, Sept. 1, 2008, http://tmilz.blogtownhall.com/
Excerpt: I entered the seminar room about 15 minutes before the lecture began, aware that I would miss the night’s fireworks but interested in hearing how International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) would expound on “International Mindedness,” one of the organization’s stated goals. At my early-July teacher training in beautiful Montezuma, New Mexico, this seminar opened my eyes to the fact that IBO is more ideological than educational. Moreover, it sent me on moral and ethical quest as I began to question the role of public education, the morality of a program such as IBO in our public schools, my appropriate response to the program in my school, and how I will handle the schooling of my own children.
Dr. Steve Hreha, a physicist from Montreal and an IBO lecturer, spoke. His presentation was rooted in moral relativism, the worldview that morality is relative, or what is true for one person/group is not necessarily true for another person/group. He instructed that we cannot make value judgements regarding cultural practices. Rather, we must seek to understand the cultural backgrounds and reasons for such practices. This worldview has indeed become popular in our current post-modern age; but it is not the validity of moral relativism with which I must contend. Instead, my concern lies in the fact that a single worldview is given to IBO teachers (all IBO teachers must attend conferences such as this) as necessary instruction in their respective IBO classes.
It is a shame when education in skills and thinking is replaced by the presentation of a single worldview. Indoctrination cannot, in a society which truly aspires to individual liberty, be substituted for education. . . . [. . .] The irony of values-based curriculum instruction is not wasted on this observer, for as a nation, we have spent the last sixty years trying get rid of the teaching of solely one set of values, attempting to clearly delineate, for example, the boundary between church and state. Yet, under the guise of global citizenry, IBO now does the exact same thing, preaching a gospel of its own values, its own religion.
IBO operates with the stated goal to develop global citizens, taking stands on everything from environmentalism to international diplomacy to population control. At my training, in a subject as seemingly objective as Calculus, I was encouraged to fill my curriculum with word problems that demonstrate an underlying agenda for the program – declining animal populations, the dangers of pollutants, global warming, etc. Would this technique be viewed innocuous by the school board if I were to give word problems that focus on the percentage of international terrorists that is Muslim or examine the statistical the correlation between higher gun control and higher crime levels?
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Physics Forums | Thread for: IB (“International Boondoggle”), Feb 10-11, 12:20 PM
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=3130142
Excerpt: “. . . It [IB Diploma Program] is horrifically and unnecessarily expensive. The tests use up a ridiculous amount of paper (a single muliple choice question on one page is common). Each and every year, there is at least one egregious error in the exam (often more than that), so bad that the question has to be thrown out completely. Several questions (such as the friction question) demonstrate one person within the IBO that has a tiny axe to grind, or a unimportant hair to split. One multiple choice question a few years back was: ‘What’s the proper definition of displacement: A–the straight line distance, including direction, between the position of an object and a point of reference; B–the change in position, including direction, of an object relative to a point of reference [C and D were throw-away wrong choices].’ They did the same thing with ‘Latent Heat,’ where if you didn’t make the distinction between that and ‘Specific Latent Heat’ you would get it wrong.
They also change the curriculum around every few years, requiring a teacher to be ‘retrained’ over the summer in some too-hot place like Las Vegas or Ft. Lauderdale. I went to two ‘re-trainings’ in 6 years, and chewed through about $8000 in flight, food, and hotel, to listen to a guy doing a presentation that I could have done myself (only better).
I taught many students in an AP class (and I went ‘beyond the test’) who went on to great success at MIT, Yale, WPI, RPI, FIT, and WTF — a good student will do well if you give them the goods, and those goods do not need to have the IB stamp on them.”
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(The following is from an evaluation by a CSU Professor of Mathematics)
[California] International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, Mathematics SL
David Klein, Professor of Mathematics, California State University, Northridge, Fall 2007
http://www.npe.ednews.org/Review/Reviews/v3n4.pdf
Excerpt: Conclusions
The SL program is clearly laid out, and the syllabus and assessments are well aligned. Two strengths of the Mathematics SL course are its breadth of coverage and focus on problem solving skills. For those students for whom this is the last mathematics course ever to be taken, the curriculum is well chosen. It provides a glimpse into several parts of mathematics along with some practical skills, especially in the area of statistics. On the other hand, if a student intends to take more mathematics courses at the university level, it is not clear how that student should be placed. What university mathematics courses have as prerequisites a small amount of calculus, but no exposure to complex numbers, almost no geometry, a spotty background in trigonometry, a smattering of linear algebra, and a good bit of statistics? Perhaps more statistics courses. The heavy reliance on calculators and virtually no memorization of formulas add to the deficits. In fairness to the IBO program, highly motivated students follow the more rigorous HL syllabus. While far more complete, and mathematically advanced, as noted previously there are nevertheless some gaps even at this level. However, students with the ability to complete such a demanding curriculum are likely able to fill in missing topics on their own.
The Mathematics SL course shares many of the defects of mainstream U.S. high school mathematics programs, but unlike other programs its external examination prevents degeneration of the course below the level of its syllabus.
Grades for Mathematics SL
Clarity: B
Content: C
Rigor (Mathematical Reasoning): D.
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(The following contains quotes from those who teach combined AP/IB courses)
[California] At BHS, AP/IB Courses Change How Classes are Taught
By Maya Emmons-Bell | Berkeley High Jacket | [Date ?]
http://www.bhsjacket.com/features/bhs_apib_courses_change_how_classes_are_taught
International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement classes are often thought of as being almost indistinguishable, so much so that they are often offered at Berkeley High School as combined classes, taught in one classroom. The two types of courses each provide accelerated learning opportunities and are considered a good way for students to get a taste of college–level material and to boost their transcripts. However, both programs are distinct with separate curricula. . . .
Tackling two challenging curricula in the short time allowed between the start of school and the day of the AP or IB test is a very daunting task for both teachers and students. “The AP kids have one reading list and the IB kids have another, with minimal overlap,” said Karla Herndon, BHS Latin teacher. “It forces us to split the class into two sections. It’s difficult because it’s hard for me to get to everyone.”
The lack of overlap is a complaint that students share as well. “It’s kind of annoying because we’re focusing on things that aren’t really part of the IB test and we haven’t covered a lot of material that will be on the test,” said Marnina Wirtschafter, an IB junior in AP/IB Chemistry. IB and AP classes are often combined because of the similar difficulty levels of the two curricula; students who pass either test can earn college credit for their work and while the approach and depth of the learning required differs, the two courses often share a significant amount of material.
Aaron Glimme, who teaches AP/IB Chemistry, has nine IB students preparing for the IB test in all his classes combined. When IB students are such a minority, it’s often difficult for teachers to balance their needs with what the rest of the class needs and the same is true of classes with few AP students. It also makes it impossible to create a separate IB class because a minimum number of students are required before a new course can be created. IB Biology teacher Nick Pleskac teaches IB Biology this year, but taught combined AP/IB courses last year. “Students are required to know the information and perform the skills on both syllabi. Therefore, teachers need to provide the opportunity to learn this content and these skills. Time becomes the factor. With our limited time, teachers have additional stress and if they are delivering the content [effectively], the students end up with the additional stress.” Pleskac added, “I do not think the combined course serves students well. [In IB Biology], students have a clearer understanding of what they are expected to learn. I believe the separate AP and IB courses serve students best for biology.”
While AP and IB courses are similar in difficulty and subject matter, they differ in many respects. IB students trying to earn the IB Diploma are required to take six IB distinct courses covering differentsubjects as part of the International Baccalaureate program. IB classes are usually more analytical and less fact–based than AP classes, and students are required to take them in many subjects, instead of being able to choose a few they are interested in. AP classes often focus on breadth of knowledge rather than depth and tend to not delve as deeply into the subject, but cover a larger amount of material. Each course culminates in a large test at the end of the year, although the AP tests are open to any student willing to pay the test fee, the IB tests are only for students who have participated in the corresponding IB class. The challenge of teaching these separate classes together stems from the different types of preparation needed to ready students for the AP or IB tests.
AP/IB Chemistry teacher Aaron Glimme passes out a large packet of supplementary work to all his IB students days after they finish the last chapter of chemistry subject matter that their AP peers will not be expected to know. Glimme’s IB students must also complete a few extra labs in order to meet IB requirements. “IB students need to design a few of their own experiments and labs, but I think this is a valuable skill, so I often have my AP students participate as well,” said Glimme. The combination of AP and IB classes does increase the scope of the material learned and also often provides IB students with the opportunity to take both the AP and IB tests if they choose. Whether or not students’ test grades suffer from the combination of AP and IB classes is relatively unknown at this point because of the low number of students at BHS who have participated in combined classes. With a limited budget, as well as the fact that many subjects don’t have enough IB kids to justify a separate class, it seems as though a combined AP/IB classes will continue to be taught at BHS for the foreseeable future.
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[California] Teachers protest IB program
By Mark McDermott | EasyReaderNews.com | Filed under Redondo Beach | March 24, 2011
http://www.easyreadernews.com/23459/redondo-international-baccalaureate/
Fifty teachers from Redondo Union High School stormed the Board of Education Tuesday night to protest the implementation of the International Baccalaureate program.
The group included a majority of the school’s department heads and some of the longest-tenured and most respected teachers at RUHS. Their concerns ranged from the cost of the program to what they argued was a lack of teacher input and a greater need to address the needs of less high-achieving students.
Linda Dillard, the chair of the school’s science department, told the school board that teachers have not been allowed to engage in a “data-driven, fact-finding process” to help determine if the program is a good fit for RUHS.
“The IB program has been dictated to the RUHS teachers by the administration,” Dillard said. “…In my 25 years at RUHS, I have never seen a program of this magnitude and economic impact forced upon teachers who are expected to deliver a high quality program without being given any input in the decision making. What do you think the chances of success are?”
[ . . . ]
. . . opposition to the IB program has emerged from the Redondo Union faculty. In January, 81 teachers signed a petition opposing the program’s implementation. Many of the teachers argue that the school already has a program in place – Advance Placement classes – that meets the needs of the students who would be attracted to IB. Instead, they point to the school’s lagging performance in the so-called “A through G” requirements that students need to enroll in the California state university system. According to a district report released last year, only 42 percent of RUHS students are meeting those requirements upon graduation.
History teacher Amber Keller told the board that even if the program attracted more students, it would do so at the expense of those already at the school.
“In doing this, we are essentially neglecting the needs of our students at RUHS who need our attention now,” she said.
Foreign languages department head Cynthia Leathers questioned spending money on IB in the midst of a budget crisis.
“The district has increased K-12 class size, proposed unpaid furlough days, and required all district employees to contribute more for their health benefits,” she said. “What fiscally responsible organization implements expensive programs when there is not enough money to cover the basics?”
Several teachers took exception to the notion that they represented a minority voice at RUHS and were essentially reluctant to embrace change. Math teacher Tim Baumgartner accused Superintendent Steven Keller of perpetuating this notion in public meetings and newspaper accounts.
“I am not afraid of change,” Baumgartner said. “We know that RUHS is not perfect, but IB does nothing to help in the areas where improvement is needed. . . .”
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[California] 50 Redondo Union Teachers Say No to IB
Teachers cite expense of program in a time of budget cuts, and say students who aren’t qualified for advanced coursework would get overlooked. | By Ed Pilolla | RedondoBeachPatch | March 23, 2011
http://redondobeach.patch.com/articles/50-redondo-union-teachers-say-no-to-ib
Excerpt: About 50 teachers from Redondo Union High School attended Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting in opposition to the International Baccalaureate program scheduled for implementation at the high school in 2012.
The teachers, including department chairs, said they oppose the cost of the IB program during a time of continued budget cuts. They also said it wasn’t needed at a school with an award-winning Advanced Placement program.
Excerpt: Cynthia Leathers, the foreign language department chair at RU, said that bringing IB to the school is not appropriate while increasing class sizes, proposing unpaid furlough days and requiring all district employees to contribute more to their health insurance.
“What fiscally responsible organization implements expensive programs when there’s not enough money for the basics?” Leathers said.
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[Missouri] Ozark Teacher Opposes IB Program
The Ozark School Board voted to implement the International Baccalaureate Program and the application process has begun, but an Ozark teacher is leading the opposition against IB
By Joanna Small | KSPR-TV | Oct 19, 2010.
http://articles.kspr.com/2010-10-19/ib-program_24143116
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[Missouri] Ozark High School IB costs more than worth
By Ronnie White, Ozark High School teacher | CCHeadliner.com | Oct. 13, 2010
http://ccheadliner.com/opinion/article_73f75670-d620-11df-a8d0-001cc4c03286.html
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[Nevada]Why a large majority of IHS faculty is wary of IB
By Steve Brown [science and AP teacher, Incline High School] | North Lake Tahoe BONANZA | May 18, 2010
http://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20100518/NEWS/100519901/1061&ParentProfile=1050
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[Massachusetts] International Baccalaureate to be delayed until 2013
By Neil Zolot / Correspondent | GateHouse News Service| June 7, 2009 @ 8:39 PM
[Note: the following excerpts from the article contain quotes from Marblehead High School English teacher Robin Feins. Feins spoke on behalf of the Faculty Forum during a School Committee meeting about the International Baccalaureate program.]
http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/education/x2085750913/International-Baccalaureate-to-be-delayed-until-2013
Excerpts: “Dr. Dulac’s announcement about IB at an English core meeting last month disturbed us,” Feins explained. “Dr. Dulac had originally told the faculty of MHS that an IB program had been postponed, and he has maintained the decision to bring IB to MHS will be the teachers’. However, he told the English Department at that meeting that three teachers would be sent to IB for training next year at a cost of $10,000. This is moving forward with the program, not postponing.”
She continued, “The faculty at MHS wishes to completely postpone IB and not invest any more money in it at all at this time or next year. The IB program at the High School is geared to fitting a maximum of 40 students, 20 juniors and 20 seniors. This is a rather expensive program to implement, and the faculty wishes to explore it thoroughly to be absolutely certain it’s worth the investment.”
Excerpt: “IB is not a proven commodity,” Feins said. “Teachers who visited the IB school at the Cape earlier this year did not find anything we don’t already do or couldn’t more cost effectively add ourselves for the entire student body. During the training at Rice University, participants were told the IB certificate was not accepted at American colleges and universities; only by taking the diploma track will credit be considered, and this track will cost more money.”
MCAS scores may also suffer, she noted.
“Our U.S. history course has been divided into sophomore and junior years to accommodate MCAS expectations,” she said. “Students taking IB their junior year will miss U.S. History II.”
She also said that Advance Placement is a superior alternative, in the teachers’ view.
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[Massachusetts] Teachers have concerns about I.B. program
Letter by Robin Feins [teacher, MHS president, Faculty Forum, Marblehead High School]
GateHouse News Servicie | Mar 30, 2009 @ 09:53 PM
http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/education/x1579105997/LETTER-Teachers-have-concerns-about-I-B-program
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[California] School district made right call on IB program
By Jeff McKinnon [former IB teacher at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School] | Santa Ynez Valley News | Mar. 5, 2010
http://www.syvnews.com/opinion/editorial/article_cd4ee3bb-0982-5175-b071-e51bccade34f.html
Excerpt: “. . . ABC+ President Michelle De Werd, in addition to being familiar with the brief but contentious history of IB on our campus, polled several of us who had taught it here last summer by e-mail, and she was told it is a program that serves few, benefits less, and actually creates achievement gaps between our high-end students and groups struggling because of language, social or economic difficulties.”
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[New Hampshire] Be Wary of the International Baccalaureate “Programme”
By Jane Aitken [retired teacher] | GraniteGrok | March 4, 2009 http://granitegrok.com/blog/un/
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[Arkansas] Our Concerns with the Implementation of the Magnet Schools and IB program at Jonesboro– Presentation Before the Jonesboro School Board, Feb. 13, 2007
By Debbie Pelley [retired teacher and an Arkansas Family Coalition representative]
http://www.wpaag.org/IB%20-%20Jonesboro%20Presentation%20magnet%20schs.htm
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[Arkansas] Jonesboro School District Backs off International Baccalaureate Program (IBP)
— but its philosophy lives on in the magnet school programs
http://www.wpaag.org/IB%20-%20Jonesboro%20Backs%20off%20IBO.htm