The IB program, in its second year, teaches students to think in broad terms with research papers and hopes to attract more prospective students through pre-IB SRTs

By Susie Chen
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May, for hundreds of students here, is the month of AP exams. But for senior Kirby Pruis, May is the month of her IB finals, the month where she will churn out paper after paper to show her knowledge on a specific subject.

“The chemistry test I took last year had three papers: one multiple choice over theory, one free-response over analytical problems and one over special subject options, such as human biochemistry and further organic chemistry,” she said via e-mail.

Currently, the IB students are preparing for the exams, which will take place around the same time of AP exams. “It is a lot like AP classes in that we finish most of the material by spring break and then begin review after break,” Pruis said. This is, however, where the similarities between IB finals and AP exams end.

According to David Bardos, IB Coordinator and social studies department chairperson, IB students must test in at least five of the six groups known as the hexagon of IB. The groups consist of English, a second language, social studies, experimental sciences, such as biology and chemistry, math and the arts.

Pruis said, “I think the IB exams are good at testing the students’ knowledge of the subject and their ability to apply concepts in critical thinking problems. I thought my chemistry exam was harder than the AP test, simply because it included the special optional topics, human biochemistry and further organic chemistry.” For each test, the student can choose to either take the higher level test or the standard level test.

“The distinction between the higher level and standard level test is really the difficulty of study,” Bardos said. “For higher level, you may have to study for more hours, and the rigor is more difficult than standard. But they are all high-stake exams. It is all writing, and it is all done in one day.”

Students are not only required to take the finals, but it is also mandatory for them to take the class Theory of  nowledge. “This is the glue that holds together the program,” Bardos said. For this class, the students must write an extended essay of around 4,000 words, and the essay can be on any topic related to IB.

According to Pruis, Theory of Knowledge is her favorite IB class because it is unlike any other class at this school. “Theory of Knowledge helps us IB students to connect all of our subjects together and to think about ‘how we know what we know.’ Not many teachers at CHS ask you to think about why you are learning stuff or how we know it is true. Theory of Knowledge makes me think more critically about everything I do in school,” Pruis said.

For students who wish to pursue IB, Bardos said their first priority should be to investigate the program. “Is this something they would truly be interested in? As one of the other IB teachers says, AP will give you college credit, but IB will prepare you for college,” Bardos said. “IB gives you a sense of what college will be like. This is an exceptional liberal arts program.”

“The IB program gives students a cadre of kids with the same mindset. They have the diligence and willingness to pursue an IB diploma, and this program gives them a like-mindedness,” he said. As IB coordinator, Bardos is in charge of promoting the IB program to the incoming freshman and sophomores, although the program itself does not start until junior year, is responsible for making sure these freshmen and sophomores’ schedules are on the right track for IB and counsels students for the best avenue in IB.

Pruis said that pre-IB students should definitely stay organized and, if they are serious about pursuing the IB program, make sure they know which scores on the exams will get them credit in college. “Also, make sure you are prepared to be responsible for independent work,” she said. “Projects like the extended essay require a lot of personal responsibility.”

This personal responsibility, however, is something Pruis said she considers an enormous positive of the IB program. “IB students must plan ahead because IB classes have a lot of long-term projects, which make it easy to procrastinate. I think this prepares students for college well, since most college assignments are long-term and require students to take responsibility,” she said.

One of the many students expressing an interest in IB is freshman Gabrielle “Brii” Robbins, who was placed in a pre-IB SRT, a specific SRT for students who wanted to participate in the IB program. “A big reason for why I expressed interest in IB was because of my parents, since they’re both in academia,” Robbins said. “But I also liked it because it’s good for if you want to study abroad, which is something I plan to do.” Robbins said she wishes to study abroad in Scandinavia and, if this is not possible, at least minor in Scandinavian studies. She also said she liked the IB program for its intensiveness, although that also caused her to have some reservations about the program. “The only thing I’m not too sure about is how the people I know in it right now say it is crazy difficult,” Robbins said.

However difficult IB may appear to some students, Pruis said that it is a really valuable program and thinks it caters to students who value education more than grades. “I hope the program continues to grow,” she said. “I think IB has the potential to be a really interesting and fun program for future classes.”
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IB EXAM TESTING SCHEDULE

• May 5: English, Psychology
• May 6: Psychology, History of the Americas
• May 7: History of the Americas, Math SL
• May 8: Math SL, Chemistry
• May 9: Chemistry
• May 12: English
• May 13: Spanish
• May 14: Biology
• May 15: Biology
• May 16: French, German

CARMELHIGHSCHOOL.NET / SOURCE