Thank goodness Indiana only required me to take 2 years. I'd have never graduated high school if I had to go any further than Algebra 2.:laugh:aliinnc said:
Does your high school offer AP classes?...
- Thread starter aliinnc
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Actually AP & IB are equivalent.
IB (international baccalaureate) is a teaching theory that follows a European pattern. It is a great program. In Europe, classes aren't separated the way they are here. My daughter goes to an IB high school. For example, they combine history and English classes. When you are studying the middle east in history, you are reading literature from the same region and area.
IB (international baccalaureate) is a teaching theory that follows a European pattern. It is a great program. In Europe, classes aren't separated the way they are here. My daughter goes to an IB high school. For example, they combine history and English classes. When you are studying the middle east in history, you are reading literature from the same region and area.
aliinnc said:
No, no, they are not equivalent.
One of the things about Honors, AP, and IB courses is that most schools put more weight on the grade one receives because of the rigor. So, in turn, this has created an environment of competition for grades and now students are basically taking advanced courses just so they can have a higher GPA.
Pretty much anyone with a strong work ethic can enroll in an AP course. It does help if you're able to understand things at a deeper level, but even the average student can succeed in an AP course. I'm a strong advocate for the AP program, but in a way, I feel that what is being taught in AP needs to trickle down to your standard college prep courses. I believe that we don't put high enough expectations on our students.
In IB courses, the emphasis is more on developing knowledge and for one to really succeed in an IB program, they must have a strong desire to learn for the sake of learning. If you're taking IB courses just to boost your GPA then it kind of null and voids the entire meaning, or the "theory" behind it. IB programs are meant to cultivate lifelong learners.
One has to be really able to think at the "higher level" in an IB course, especially in the senior level courses.
I'm currently doing my student teaching right now. Since I'm getting certified to teach both math and science, I have a mixture of courses.
I teach at what is considered an inner city school, but it's still a high performing school considering the makeup of the students. I have a section of AP Calculus BC and I'm also teaching AP Chemistry. I really don't like biology (I tend to not agree with dissections.) but I help out the AP biology teacher with the labs.
Calculus is one of those courses in which you either know it or you don't. Consequently, the entire class is passing and a good portion have As. But in chemistry it's a bit trickier. I feel like one year of chemistry really is not significant preparation for AP chem.
The problem with AP is that it's not taught the same way at every school around the world (AP is offered in American schools overseas). At one school, what might be AP chemistry is just honor level chemistry at another. Some teachers teach AP courses without having attended one of the College Board's AP workshops. This is why some schools do not give credit for AP exams like the used to. For example, Harvard stopped giving credit about 5 years ago. They say that students benefit from four full years of college. However, what Harvard does do is give students advanced standing. In order to get advanced standing student have to have scored 5 (or 4 depending on the exam) or four AP exams or have earned the IB diploma.
I earned the IB diploma and my college actually gave credit for certain courses. This allowed me to actually take more courses in college and graduate a year early. But another reason I had an easy time in college is because to get a diploma in Alabama, one has to take 4 years of each core class. A lot of colleges actually recommend that, also.
If I had to give any of you any kind of advice, I would have to say that taking some sort of advanced math in high school really helps your child out when they get to college. I find it amazing that in China kids learn Calculus <I>before</I> the 9th grade.
Aliinc, I noticed that the track your DD on has her taking calc in the 11th grade. if she takes Calc AB in the 11th grade she would be repeating the same thing when she takes Calc BC in the 12th. Of course it's years away, but if she is capable, she would be better off taking BC in the 11th. However, do not be surprised if she cannot handle higher level math when she gets to high school. Calculus BC is one of the hardest courses in pretty much any high school. The only courses that are harder are the AP foreign language courses.
I teach at what is considered an inner city school, but it's still a high performing school considering the makeup of the students. I have a section of AP Calculus BC and I'm also teaching AP Chemistry. I really don't like biology (I tend to not agree with dissections.) but I help out the AP biology teacher with the labs.
Calculus is one of those courses in which you either know it or you don't. Consequently, the entire class is passing and a good portion have As. But in chemistry it's a bit trickier. I feel like one year of chemistry really is not significant preparation for AP chem.
The problem with AP is that it's not taught the same way at every school around the world (AP is offered in American schools overseas). At one school, what might be AP chemistry is just honor level chemistry at another. Some teachers teach AP courses without having attended one of the College Board's AP workshops. This is why some schools do not give credit for AP exams like the used to. For example, Harvard stopped giving credit about 5 years ago. They say that students benefit from four full years of college. However, what Harvard does do is give students advanced standing. In order to get advanced standing student have to have scored 5 (or 4 depending on the exam) or four AP exams or have earned the IB diploma.
I earned the IB diploma and my college actually gave credit for certain courses. This allowed me to actually take more courses in college and graduate a year early. But another reason I had an easy time in college is because to get a diploma in Alabama, one has to take 4 years of each core class. A lot of colleges actually recommend that, also.
If I had to give any of you any kind of advice, I would have to say that taking some sort of advanced math in high school really helps your child out when they get to college. I find it amazing that in China kids learn Calculus <I>before</I> the 9th grade.
Aliinc, I noticed that the track your DD on has her taking calc in the 11th grade. if she takes Calc AB in the 11th grade she would be repeating the same thing when she takes Calc BC in the 12th. Of course it's years away, but if she is capable, she would be better off taking BC in the 11th. However, do not be surprised if she cannot handle higher level math when she gets to high school. Calculus BC is one of the hardest courses in pretty much any high school. The only courses that are harder are the AP foreign language courses.
What I find interesting is the feedback that we get from a lot of former students who have taken AP's and then gone on to college. It seems that taking AP classes so kids get college credit and don't have to take courses in college works best when these classes are NOT in the students major. For instance, if a student was a bio major, taking an AP bio course in high school so they don't have to take it in college is not a great idea. Kids should take ALL of their major courses while in college. However, a bio major would definitely benefit from taking an AP history and getting that out of the way so they can focus more on bio than on other GER's in college.
I'm not against taking an AP course in high school - I just wouldn't recommend using it to skip a major-related course while in college.
I'm not against taking an AP course in high school - I just wouldn't recommend using it to skip a major-related course while in college.
Well, that's actually the reason why kids take AP courses. I had a lot of AP science courses and that allowed me to begin my major early. It works both ways - a student can take a variety of courses to lessen their gen ed requirements or they can focus on a specific area.Shari Nielsen said:
The more advanced and prepared one is for their major, the better.