High Schools with IB program: Mendham, Bernards... (Washington, Chester: credit, houses)

[snuffybear]

Does anyone know much about the IB Program (a type of Honors program, similar to AP but more all-encompassing from what I understand) available at several High Schools in New Jersey?

We are looking at houses in Mendham/Chester and Mendham HS has the IB program which it seems they push much more than traditional AP. I know Bernards and West Morris also have the IB Program, not sure if more schools do.

I am curious on how hard this program is -- is it worth it? Can kids have a life, play sports, be in Marching Band, etc. with the demands of this program? Are kids from this HS getting into excellent colleges? Mendham HS does not seem to be rated better in the NJ Monthly ratings than schools that have the traditional AP track. But I heard through the grapevine that this HS has relationships with a lot of excellent colleges / universities.

[looktowindward]

There is some skepticism about the IB program out there. I think it is quite academically rigorous, but you tend to get less college credit than the same AP classes.

This article from the Washington Post is interesting:

Finding a Solution to the IB vs. AP Dilemma - washingtonpost.com

To answer your question - its a hard course of study, but not all-consuming for a properly prepared and motivated student.

[ObserverNY]

Snuffybear,

Good for you for noticing that they "push" IB much more than AP. That is because IB is an extremely expensive program which raises school property taxes in districts foolish enough to purchase it and if given the CHOICE, students choose AP over IB by a 2-1 margin. Most HSs that adopt IB end up eliminating AP and Honors because IB requires all other courses be scheduled around its Diploma program.

Bernards HS decided to phase out IB in 2009.

For everything you need to know about IB but were afraid to ask, please visit Truth About IB.

[lkb0714]

Biotechnology high school is a sister academy in the district I teach at and they use IB as opposed to the AP or college agreements the rest of us use. The students seem to think it is much more rigorous than AP. Some of them are quite unhappy with the aspect where a teacher assigns an assignment and it gets sent out for grading.

One of my problems with IB is that our students are frequently gifted in one particular area (usually science or math) and choose AP courses in those areas. IB is an entire curriculum and I have heard anecdotally that some of the kids in IB have to spend almost all of their time working on the areas they have less natural inclination for instead of the courses they are passionate about.

[ObserverNY]

Very good points. From my perspective, IB is very limiting and constricting. Let's take your example of a child with a keen interest in science. An AP student could begin taking AP in 10th Grade and rack up college credit for Chem, Bio and Physics. In IB, they would want to take a HL science course which runs for two years. IBO forbids students from taking its diploma courses in 10th Grade. A good exam score might earn the student 4-8 credits at a university in ONE science, while AP could earn a student anywhere from 12-24 credits in THREE sciences.

Because IB causes scheduling problems in smaller schools, full diploma candidates are often forced to give up band, chorus or orchestra.

And schools pay hundreds of thousands of extra dollars for this program, why?

[snuffybear]

Thank you - this is helpful. We are considering Mendham but this worries me about the HS, as I do get the impression that IB is pushed over AP, and I am not sure that is best for every kid (I think I like the pick-and-choose menu of AP courses; and that sounds less stressful for the kid and less impactful for a kid that plays sports or does band etc).

Very interesting that Bernards HS phased out IB.