Halcyon Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Found this interesting post today and thought I would share http://paddockpost.com/2011/11/10/ib-diploma-schools-in-florida-mean-scores/ she outlines how none of the FLorida IB programs hit the mid 30s for their mean scores, which is considered the lowest level for good colleges. We are considering the school in Martin County which received a mean score of 31. NOt sure that's going to be good enough for my husband--he (and I!) want my kids to get an excellent high school education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks for that link. I've considered the IB a couple of times for my ds, but looking at those scores it may not be the best idea after all. I'm in Marion County and one school got 29 and the other only started offering it in 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Honestly, I think a school with a mean score of 31 would be fine. If the average student is at 31 a devoted student should score well above that. Our local school also has a mean score of 31 and it sends students to top colleges every year. The article itself states that the worldwide mean is only 30.7. One must also consider the size of the program. Our local program usually contains 500+ students. This is a tough program and lots of kids will struggle or burn out. They are going to lower the school's mean score, but it doesn't generally effect the outcome for the students that excel and push through. And it looks like the mean is determined on the overall number of students regardless of the size or age of the program. I know ours has been around for at least 25 years and is one of the biggest programs in the state. Those stats will influence the mean score. If a pass is 24 points and the Ivies want to see a 38 or higher, I would consider a school with a mean of 31 to be a school where a student very likely has the opportunity to get an excellent education. However, I would talk to the school directly and with parents that have students currently in the program for more specific information. I currently have a relative in our local IB program that has hopes of it leading to admission at Harvard. I'm interested to see how that works out. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Honestly, I think a school with a mean score of 31 would be fine. If the average student is at 31 a devoted student should score well above that. Our local school also has a mean score of 31 and it sends students to top colleges every year. The article itself states that the worldwide mean is only 30.7. And, according to the article, the US mean is 27.5, so ??? Furthermore, I wonder if median is a better way to summarize the scores a school receives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks for the article! The school my dd would go to this fall for the IB program is listed as a 30. She's also considering applying to the AICE program instead because we've heard those students are getting into better colleges. I can't find a whole lot of information about it though. It's all becoming frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 If a pass is 24 points and the Ivies want to see a 38 or higher, I would consider a school with a mean of 31 to be a school where a student very likely has the opportunity to get an excellent education. However, I would talk to the school directly and with parents that have students currently in the program for more specific information. I currently have a relative in our local IB program that has hopes of it leading to admission at Harvard. I'm interested to see how that works out. :) I'd ask for a list of every university that the previous year's school leavers are attending. They should have this to hand. This will give you a better idea whether the scores are clustered around the mean, or whether there are some very high and some very low. Also check what majors are being studied at the best universities - my boys' school seems to do best getting people into Oxbridge to do classics. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 We just had our first informational meeting tonight regarding the IB program at our local high school. It had a mean score of 30 in the linked article. I'm trying to figure out if the information I was given is good, bad, or just okay. It sounds good to me, but I wonder what others would think. Dd has a few other options so I'm trying to to help guide her toward the best decision. Last year's IB program had 81 graduates. The majority went to a state university (UF and FSU) because 100% were awarded Bright Futures scholarships. It would be hard to pass that up unless dd was awarded something amazing elsewhere. Four of the 81 went to an Ivy. They also had one at West Point and two out of the country (McGill in Canada and Universidad de Navarro in Spain). All but a small handful were attending somewhere that left me wondering, but each of those were very local so maybe they couldn't leave or couldn't afford it. The rest were a very decent mix of schools. We have two more informational sessions over the next two weeks. I hope to find out areas of study for these graduates. If I am able to do so, I will update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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