Truth About IB 2

Home

About Us

10 Years of IB in LV

Common Core & IB

2013 IB News & Views

page1

Archive 2012

2010-2011 News archive

2008-2009 News archive

Press

Is IB Superior?

IB Playbook

What's the Difference?

IB vs AP

IB vs A-Levels

IB Media Bias

IB in the Media

IB Math Fraud

How Much Does IB Cost?

IB Fees

Actual IB Budgets

Feasibility Study

IB MYP and PYP

Does IB Take Control?

IB Application Process

IB Schedule Requirements

IB Ownership

IB Dispute Resolution

Talk to the Students

Catholic Opposition to IB

Intn'l IB Teachers Speak!

IB the Logical Fallacy

IB & Academic Honesty

IB and Special Ed

How Are IB Exams Graded?

Blog of a TOK Examiner

IB is Unconstitutional

The IB Hidden Curriculum

IB and The Earth Charter

IB and UNESCO

Mother Earth Day

Sample IB Lessons

Sample IB Exam Questions

IB TOK Curriculum

TAIB vs. TOK Canada

IB student letters/TOK

IB Reading Lists

IB History of Americas

IB Action Awards

U.S. School Disputes

IB in Springdale, AR

IB in Mesa, AZ

IB in Greenwich, CT

IB in Coeur d'Alene, ID

IB in Council Bluffs, IA

IB in Norcross, GA

IB in Farmington, MI

IB in White Bear Lake, MN

IB in Ozark, MO

IB in Incline Village, NV

Incline Task Force Minute

IB Bow, NH

Merrimack Valley, NH

IB Cherry Hill, NJ

Maplewood, NJ

Island Park, NY

IB Locust Valley, NY

IB in Monticello, NY

Stow-Munroe Falls, Ohio

IB in Upper St. Clair, PA

IB in Columbia, SC

IB in Bradley County, TN

IB in Bastrop, TX

IB in McAllen, TX

IB in Fairfax, VA

IB in Green Lake, WI

IB in Mequon, WI

A Tale of Two Cities

Obama/Duncan/IB

IB + Earth Charter

UNESCO - Greatest Danger

IB Unraveled

A Parent's Plea

Dear IB,

You learned WHAT?!?

IB Buys Binghamton

School Boards

ASCD/Whole Child

KFAB Radio Interviews

IB You Tube videos

Pro-IB Comments

In Defense of IB

2012 Scholarship!

2011 Scholarship

What Can I Do?

Contact Us

 
Document
Locust Valley 2014 IB/AP Exam Reports
MAY 2013 IB and AP Exam Results
 
Once again, the LVCSD has found it necessary to run out the clock before releasing this pubic information to TAIB. Due to the pathetic results at great expense to the taxpayers, it is easy to see why LVCSD wouldn't want this information to be public knowledge.

Some interesting observations:
1. Of the 24 IB Diploma candidates, only 21 completed Extended Essays.
2. Of the 21 Extended Essays submitted, not a single one earned an 'A'
3. There were 18 'N's awarded. An 'N' is the equivalent of an incomplete or non-award.
4. Only 28% of the students who sat the AP exams scored a '3' or better (72% FAILURE rate)
5. Cost to taxpayers for IB/AP exams: $120,425

 

Document
2013 May IB/AP exam results for LVHS

                            LVHS IBDP PASS RATE

   Class of 2006 - 28 candidates, 24 recipients - 85% pass rate

Class of 2007 - 20 candidates, 14 recipients (4 awarded on appeal) - 70% pass rate

Class of 2008 - 31 candidates, 20 recipients (mean score 29, highest 34) - 64.5% pass rate

Class of 2009 - 28 candidates, 19 recipients (mean score 29, highest 39) - 68% pass rate


   Class of 2010 - 43 candidates, 29 recipients (mean score 29, highest 39) - 67% pass rate  

Class of 2011 - 36 candidates, 32 recipients (mean score 29, highest 35) - 89% pass rate

 
   Class of 2012 - 40 candidates, 27 recipients (mean score 29, highest 40) - 67.5% pass rate
 
   Class of 2013 - 24 candidates, 19 recipients (mean score 30, highest 38) - 79% pass rate

May 2012 Locust Valley HS, NY IB & AP Exam Results
 
FACTS
 
38% of the 342 AP exams administered scored a '3' or higher.
 
Only 29% of the 93 students in APUSH scored a '3' or higher.
 
67.5%, or 27 of the 40 IB Diploma Candidates received the IB Diploma.
 
The 'mean' IB Diploma score was '29'
 
The highest IB Diploma score earned was 40.
 
Cost to taxpayers for the IB student registration fee, IB exam fees and AP exam fees was: $120,147
 
Cost breakout
 
342 AP exams @ $87 per exam = $29,754
201 IB student registration fees @145 per student + $96 exam fee (one IB exam) = $48,441
437 additional IB exams @ $96 per exam = $41,952
 
TOTAL: $120,147
 
(20%+ increase in spending over 2011)
 
 

Document
May 2012 IB Exam Report for LVHS
Document
May 2012 AP (College Board) Report for LVHS
2011 LVHS AP Results

221
AP exams administered
3, possibly 4 AP courses actually taught
41% - overall pass rate
$19,227 taxpayer money spent

TAIB does not have the enrollment figures for the AP U.S. History course for 2011, if it ran at all. In the past, the number of students choosing this course over IB History of the Americas averaged 15-17 students. Yet in looking at the chart below, we see that 83 students sat the AP. U.S. History exam. A LVHS parent told TAIB that many students were made to sit for the AP exam who were either in IB or the Regents level history class. Only 20 out of 83, or 24%, earned a 3 or better.

What does this prove? Well, for one thing, it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that IB History of the Americas does not provide American students with enough core knowledge to pass an AP exam on U.S. History.

NY IB World School Sends Film Teacher to ...
Cardiff, WHALES [SIC]!

August 5th, 2011 - On the 20th business day after TAIB filed FOIL requests for the 2011 LVHS IB Exam Report and its 5 Year IB Review, the district finally complied and e-mailed the information. It will take some time to do a proper analysis of the results, but despite 32 out of 36 students actually earning the IB Diploma, the 'mean' score attained is still only 29 and the highest score, a 35. Not a single student earned an 'A' on their Extended Essay (EE) and despite hiring a consultant for TOK, 24 out of the 36 students only scored a 'C', 'D' or 'E' on their TOK essay.

The 5 Year Review is rather astonishing to read when it comes to the number of boxes checked in "Requires Significant Attention". Teacher collaboration seems to be almost non-existent, as well as a written curriculum and the ability of the public to obtain information about the "programme". At least the district has the intellectul honesty to recognize that not everyone in their community shares its love of IB:

"Our community at large does not all share the goals and values of IB."

Ya think? ;-)

What really made TAIB chuckle, however, was the district's use of the word CURRICULUMS as the plural of 'curriculum'. For this outrageously expensive, hoidy toidy, elitist nonsense, one would expect the educators in charge of administering this snakeoil to at least know that the plural of curriculum is CURRICULA and that Cardiff is in the country of WALES, not Whales. An astute BoE trustee from Arizona noticed that on Pg. 9 of the Review, LVCSD incorrectly identified the work of Ishmael Beah as "A Long Way Home" when the correct title is "A Long Way Gone". Are these just sloppy, careless errors? And why is this review unsigned by either the Principal or the IB Coordinator? Who prepared this mess? Another question - why does LVCSD list the IB membership fee for 2011-12 as $10,500 when the IB website states $10,200? And $11,000 for 2012-2013? Is somebody getting a little kickback?

Document
LVHS 2011 IB Exam Report
Document
LVHS 5 Year IB Review
Document
LVHS 2010 IB Report
Document
LVHS 2010 AP Report
ARRA grants
                                                    WHAT'S THE BIG SECRET?

TAIB, in cooperation with The Leader, has been trying to ascertain the following information for the past two months:

1. How many full IB Diploma candidates were there in the Class of '08?  -  31
2. How many IB Diplomas were awarded to the Class of '08? - 20
3. What was the mean score for the IB Diplomas awarded in '08? - 29
4. What was the highest score attained on an IB Diploma in '08? - 34
** data received 12/23/08 via FOIL
A 64.5% pass rate for the Diploma Programme is not very good. Global average is around 80%

This would appear to be a very basic, uncomplicated, request for data. In years prior, a report summarizing the year's IB results was presented to the Board, usually in October. However, since 2008 ushered in an entirely new administrative staff including Superintendent, Asst. Superintendent and all new Principals, everyone except the Board of Education members who originally voted for IB, are completely unaware of "past practices" of the district. It would appear that in 2008, no one asked the IB Coordinator to compile end of the schoolyear IB results. TAIB has learned that The Leader has filed a FOIL request for all of the individual IB student records (with names deleted for confidentiality purposes) in an effort to compile the information.  As shown above, the district ultimately relented and rather than providing the individual student records, tallied the results. 

Why is such basic data not being requested by Administration in a district that has spent + $1,000,000 on IB since 2003? This sort of stonewalling and obfuscation of data is unacceptable. If the district doesn't have something to hide, why wasn't this information provided willingly? Why did LVCSD remove the 2006 IB data from its website two months ago? Do we see a pattern here?

www.theleaderonline.com

TAIB Underestimated IB Costs
07/26/09

We know. It's hard to believe. TAIB has endeavored to present accurate information regarding the onerous cost of implementing IB in a school. Based on our read of IB regulations, we were under the impression that the $129 student registration fee only applied to full Diploma students and was therefore, negligible. After a heated discussion with an IB teacher over this very issue, we are actually pleased to announce, we were wrong. IB charges the $129 registration fee for every student who intends to take just one IB exam in addition to the $88 per exam fees.

Now, this doesn't just apply to the DP. It also applies to the MYP where the IB charges a $60 per student registration fee. Apparently at the PYP level where IB requires the entire school to participate in PYP, it couldn't bring itself to tack on this userous fee.

So why is this an issue? Let's take a small public high school like Locust Valley, NY. Last year, the graduating class was 203 students. LV's administration has proudly proclaimed that "at least 80% of the students are taking at least one IB class!" Great!  So on top of the annual $9,160 to "belong" to IB, this small district pays an additional $20,640  just for the "privilege" of students being able to register to take an exam. Think about it. $30,000 a year - for WHAT? And that's just for a tiny district. What about districts where there are 400-600 or more students in a grade? That $20,000 becomes $40,000 or $60,000, just for registration fees!

Offering AP instead of IB could immediately eliminate a minimum of $30,000 in superfluous expenses from a budget.

IB or not IB,
That is the Question

By Roberta Grant*
aka Lisa E. McLoughlin
In My Opinion article from The Leader, April, 2004


The recently erected sign in front of the Locust Valley Middle/High School congratulates Locust Valley's acceptance as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. Big words, sounds impressive, but how much do the taxpayers and parents actually know about this major change in high school curriculum?


IBO is a non-profit foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1968, IBO currently boasts approximately 1100 member schools in 100 countries. The concept behind IB is to provide students with greater in-depth knowledge of the six core subject areas based on a global curriculum. Only those students enrolled in the diploma programme which consists of three Standard Level (SL) and three Higher Level (HL) courses, potentially qualify for college credits.** IBO also acts in an advisory capacity to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

On the surface, IB sounds like a prestigious addition to Locust Valley credentials. Unfortunately, there are a number of significant changes and costs involved in LVCSD?s adoption of this programme which were not made public prior to the application process. 
First and foremost is LVCSD?s decision to eliminate Honors and Advanced Placement  (AP) courses for juniors and seniors. It should be pointed out that this is not the case in some of the other schools which have become IB. The elimination of the Honors track presents underclassmen with a dilemma when planning for their final two years of high school: should former Honors students opt for the rigorous and intensive IB programme leaving little time for other activities? Or should they drop to the Regents level where they can sail through by making A's and having time for sports or other interests? By making these the only two options, LVCSD has thrown the baby out with the bath water and embraced the tacit socialist movement to dumb down America under the guise of improvement. 
 
What makes something prestigious? According to Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition, prestige is: 1. The power to command admiration or esteem 2. Reputation or distinction based on brilliance of achievement. Ironically, the word is derived from the Latin praestigium which means: a delusion, an illusion, a juggler's trick and from praestinguere meaning: to darken, to obscure. I checked with IBNA headquarters in Manhattan to ascertain the rejection rate for applicants to the IB and was told that "Maybe two out of 50 are rejected". That equates to a 96% acceptance rate. Based on this figure, which definition of prestige appears to be the most accurate?

The reason for such a high acceptance rate into IB is simple: the cost for a public school to become a member of this foreign foundation is exorbitant. The application fee alone was in excess of $10,000. Teacher training is in the neighborhood of $8-9000 per teacher per course which does not include travel expenses to the training sites, none of which appear to be held locally.**

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (www.nctm.org 10/00) ?Many preservice mathematics teachers in Canada and the U.S. do not know all of the mathematics needed to teach the IB Diploma program.? It appears LVCSD has solved this problem by only offering SL IB Math.** Additional fees are encumbered by the district for registration of each student in the program, textbooks, grading fees and the $54 per test fee which the student will be expected to absorb. Combine these with an annual $8,020 fee for the district to remain in good standing and we are looking at an expenditure in the hundreds of thousands over the course of several years.


In final consideration, perhaps a look into the best practices of four local districts (Jericho, Manhasset, Great Neck South and Cold Spring Harbor, none of which are IB schools) and which were ranked in the top 25 in the nation by Newsweek
on June 2, 2003, would be time and money better spent. 
A proposition is needed. Changes of this cost and magnitude which affect our children's education philosophically and financially should be voted on by the public as a separate proposition on the 2004-2005 budget ballot. The voters should be entitled to line item information regarding money spent to date on IB; fees, training, travel plus a five year projection of program costs. In addition, the district should be forthcoming about any intentions to expand the IB program to the Middle and Elementary levels and any associated costs involved therewith.**


The public has the right to decide if this is the kind of education they want their hard earned tax dollars spent on. In the 8 x 10 color glossy brochure promoting IB just mailed on April 2, 2004, by LVCSD to district residents it states, "There are no set academic criteria, simply guidelines for success"? Smoke and mirrors are difficult to quantify. International Baccalaureate - prestige? Or prestidigitation?

Author's updated corrections to original article 10/11/08 -

**1. Most universities recognize scores of 5-7 on HL IB exams, even if taken as stand-alone courses.

**2. For the 3 Levels of training, the average cost is $4500 per teacher.

**3. LVHS began offering HL IB Math in the fall of 2006.

**4.
http://counsel32.nysed.gov/Decisions/volume44/d15191.htm -
appeal denied, Commissioner rules that the Boards of Education are autonomous when it comes to curriculum.

Analysis of Potential College Credit -
AP vs. IB
A Decade of Difference

by Lisa E. McLoughlin

On August 22nd, when many families were on vacation, the LVCSD Board of Ed held a meeting at which the 06-07 Regents, IB and AP results were presented. The Regents results were fairly good, but the IB and AP results were......well, see for yourself.

In my files, I came across the same report from the 1995-96 school year. I would like to present to your readers, the comparative data and offer for your consideration a mathematical formula which calculates the value of advanced courses in terms of potential college credit earnings.

In 95-96, only students who had an average of 85 or higher in a subject and received teacher recommendation were allowed to take AP. This process was changed to self-select around 2000. At the Board meeting the other night, one trustee questioned
whether the 50% failure rate of the diploma candidates (only 10 students earned an IB Diploma in '07) was an indication that some of those students shouldn't have been in the program in the first place. Good question. It was also asked whether it is better for students to "challenge" themselves with advanced courses and fail, or to take regular level classes. Another good question, but one I believe the answer to is a resounding NO, it is not better.

It is also nearly impossible to compare data from a year when only AP existed with a year with IB and AP. One of the main reasons is that IB has two levels of courses. We have established that stand alone IB SL courses do not receive college credit. Therefore, in making the following comparison, I will eliminate all IB SL courses from the equation with the exception of IB SL Physics which can be used to compare with the former AP offering. In essence, the SL courses would have been former Honors courses and not charted anyway. What we are looking for is to see if IB has IMPROVED student performance and opportunity for college credit.

95-96
# of AP courses offered - 9
# of AP exams administered - 125
U.S. History - 19 students, 78% pass rate (3 or higher)
European - 16 students, 75% pass rate
U.S Govt. & Politics - 17 students, 82% pass rate
Eng. Lang & Comp - 12 students, 100% pass rate
Eng. Lit & Comp - 12 students, 100% pass rate
French - 7 students - 71% pass rate
Biology - 12 students, 100% pass rate
Physics - 9 students, 66% pass rate
Calculus AB - 17 students, 94% pass rate

06-07
# of HL IB courses offered - 6 (inc. IB SL Physics)
# of AP courses offered - 4 (1 student took AP Calc and 2 took AP Art
combined with IB Art)
# of HL IB and AP exams administered - 199 (+22 for Physics) = 221
AP U.S. History - 17 students, 0% pass rate
AP European - 17 students, 51.5% pass rate
AP U.S. Govt & Politics - 17 students, 29.4% pass rate
IB HL Hist. of the Americas - 62 students, 77% pass rate
IB HL English - 58 students, 98.2% pass rate
IB HL Biology - 20 students, 30% pass rate
IB SL Physics - 22 students, 36.4% pass rate
IB HL Chemistry - 15 students, 46.7% pass rate
IB HL Visual Arts - 11 students, 36.4% pass rate
AP 2D Design - 2 students, 0% pass rate
AP Calculus AB - 1 student, 100% pass rate

Comparison of Potential College Credit Earned
Although AP considers a 3 passing and IB considers a 4 passing, in my review of most of the better colleges, I have found that they require at least a 4 in AP and a 5 or better in IB to award credit. Therefore, I shall use AP 4's & 5's and
IB 5's-7's for my analysis:

95-96 - 58 x 3 credits per exam = 174 potential college credits
06-07 - 70 x 3 credits per exam = 210 potential college credits

Good. Now let's divide the potential credit outcomes by the number of exams administered to determine a value ratio (ie: If all 125 exams taken in 95-96 received a score of 4 or better, the highest ratio it would be possible to earn would be a 3.0):

95-96 - 174 ÷ 125 = 1.39
06-07 - 210 ÷ 221 = 0.95

Clearly, those students in 95-96 who sat for an AP exam stood a much better chance of earning college credit than those in 05-06. This ratio, unlike Mr. Mathews' Newsweek ratio, is determined based on testing outcomes, not the number of seats filled. Therefore, not only have the scores plummeted as a result of IB, so have the student chances of earning college credit, despite the increased number of students sitting for the exams. A 0% pass rate for 11th Grade AP U.S. History?? The district should refund the17 parents of those students their $85 AP exam fees for its failure to deliver the curriculum! If the district truly wants to HELP not HURT students, then based on its own hard numbers it should move to phase out IB by 2009 and establish an AP program that is at the very least, as strong as it was in 95-96, hopefully a lot stronger. Districts like Syosset, Jericho, Great Neck, and Cold Spring Harbor all offer at least 15-25 AP courses. We should too!

This web site is built and maintained by concerned citizens of the United States of America
copyright © 2022 Truth About IB 2

All you need to know about the International Baccalaureate Programme (but were afraid to ask)