Thursday, March 19, 2020

What Is the IB Program, and What Are IB Classes

What Is the IB Program, and What Are IB Classes SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips One factor some students consider when choosing a high school is whether it has an International Baccalaureate program. Sometimes compared with the Advanced Placement (AP) program, the IB program allows students to take college-level courses while in high school. So what is International Baccalaureate? What is the IB Program and an IB Diploma, and why are IB classes worth taking?In this article, we introduce all things IB, including the diploma requirements and features of the exam. We also tell you whether you have to get an IB diploma in order to earn college credit for your IB classes. What Is IB? An Overview The International Baccalaureate (IB) program was designed in Switzerland in the 1960s. Its purpose was to give students around the world a chance to earn a rigorous, internationally recognized diploma, which they could then use for entry into universities. (You can read more about the history and philosophy of the IB program on the official IB website. ) To earn an IB diploma, you have to go to an IB-approved school and meet the requirements, including taking classes in the six subject groups, passing the IB exams, and completing three additional core requirements. But what if you don’t want to do the diploma? It's also possible to take a few IB classes without doing the full-blown diploma program, though each high school has its own policy on this. How Does College Credit Work for IB? IB exams are recognized for college credit in a way similar to how AP exams are used. You don’t have to earn the IB diploma to get credit for individual classes, as colleges give credit course by course. For example, check outStanford’s chart for IB credit. IB classes come in two forms: "higher level" and "standard level" (we will discuss this in more detail below). Some colleges only give credit for the higher-level classes (as Stanford does). Also,some colleges will completely waive general education requirements for students who have completed the full IB diploma.See the University of Utah’s policy here as an example. This means that a student with an IB diploma could totally skip gen ed classes and jump right into their major. This would obviously save a ton of time and money,and shows why getting the IB diploma can be a huge advantage. To find a school’s policy on IB credit, search for "[School Name] IB credit policy." Most universities have a dedicated web page for explaining their IB credit policy. What Are the Benefits of the IB Program? One of the chief benefits of the IB program is that it provides academic preparation for college. IB courses are known for being interdisciplinary, requiring a good deal of independent thinking, and assigning oral presentations and original research- all characteristics of college courses. Spoiler alert: college-level research involves a bit more work than just Googling something. Especially if you earn the full IB diploma, your IB courses will be a great way of showing that you have taken tough courses in a range of subjects,from math to English to history to science, and are able to manage college-level coursework. As we discussed before, colleges want to see that you've taken the most advanced classes available to you.And taking IB is a great way to do just that. In addition to getting preparation for college, you can get credit for college classes by passing IB exams. Again, you don’t need to complete the full IB diploma in order to earn credit, so if you don’t think you can fit the IB diploma into your schedule, it might still benefit you to take a few individual IB classes. Unfortunately, taking an IB exam isn’t cheap. There's a $172 registration fee as well as a $119 fee per exam. While this is a lot of money, it is much less than the tuition you would pay for the same intro-level college course. Many schools also have their own financial aid programs for IB. Learn more about IB costs here. What Are the 6Core Courses in the IB Program? To earn the full IB diploma, you have to take courses from six subjects, one each from groups 1-5, and either one from group 6 or a substitute from one of the other groups: Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature (most likely an English literature course if you’re an American student) Group 2: Language Acquisition (a foreign language course) Group 3: Individuals and Societies (history, economics, geography, other social sciences) Group 4: Experimental Sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, other sciences) Group 5: Mathematics Group 6: The Arts (dance, theater, visual arts, etc.) Between three and four subjects must be taken at the â€Å"higher level† (HL) and the rest at the â€Å"standard level† (SL) in order to earn the diploma. Higher-level courses are more challenging- IB recommends a minimum of 240 hours of instructional time for HL courses, and 150 hours for SL courses. Some schools handle the higher-level requirements by having students take the SL or AP version of a course first, and the HL version second, thereby forming a two-year sequence. For example, you might take AP English Literature as a junior, and then Higher-Level IB English as a senior. Also, note thatmany high schools with IB programs have recommended four-year plans to help students fit in all the requirements,since there's a lot to keep track of. Therefore, you won't necessarily have to do a bunch of schedule-planning on your own. If your school or a school you're interested in has an IB program, get in touch with the guidance counseling office to find out whether they have recommended IB class sequences. This can help you if you're deciding which high school to attend, or if you can’t decide whether you want to take IB classes or not. What Are IB Exams? For each of those six core classes, you also have to take an IB exam. IB exams are given in May (or November for southern hemisphere schools). They have two parts: an external assessment and internal assessment. The external assessment is the more traditional exam portion, and consists of two or three "papers," usually done on the same day or a few days in a row. A paper is essentially an exam section, and they usually have a combination of multiple-choice, short-answer, extended-response, and data- or case-analysis questions. You won't spend much time bubbling in answers on an IB exam. The papers are graded by independent examiners- similar to how AP exams are graded by certified AP graders. The internal assessments are done by the teacher. These can include oral presentations, practical work (such as a written lab report), or other written work. 5% or more of the internal assessments will also be graded by a moderator appointed by IB- and based on this moderation, the grading curve of that subject at the school will be set. IB exams are graded from 1 to 7, with 6 and 7 considered an A, and anything 4 and up generally considered a passingscore (though IB doesn’t set official passing grades). Most colleges give IB credit for scores of 5 and higher. To earn the IB diploma, you need to score an average of 4 on each exam to get the minimum 24 needed points. You canlearn more about IB examson the IB website. What Are the 3Core Requirements in the IB Program? In addition to IB classes and exams, there are three more core requirements students must complete to earn an IB diploma. Read about them below: #1: The Extended Essay This is an independent research essay of up to 4,000 words that's graded externally by IB. It has to be focused on one academic subjectand written on a topic that's been approved by IB. Students are awarded points toward their diploma based on how well they do on the essay. #2: Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Class This class teaches the nature of knowledge and builds skills in critical thinking. Students have to complete a presentation (graded by the teacher) and a 1,600-word essay (graded externally) to pass this course. #3: Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) Lastly, students are required to participate in anactivity outside of class, either community service, athletics, or creative activities.For most students, their regular extracurricular activities and sports count for these hours, meaning that they don't need to add anything to their schedules in order to fulfill this requirement. IB vs AP: Key Similarities and Differences We have a complete rundown of AP vs IB in this post, which includes a guide to deciding between the two programs. That being said, here are some of the key similarities and differences between the two. What’s the Same? Both the AP and IB programs allow you to take a challenging course followed by an exam that you can earn college credit for. In some schools, they're even the same course (e.g. AP/IB French, AP/IB Biology, etc.). AP and IB are generally the most challenging courses available to high school students. Unless you're able to sign up for local college courses or do advanced independent projects and research, AB and IB are likely the best (and most convenient) way for you to begin preparing for college. What’s Different? Although both programs offer challenging courses for high school students, there are a lot of differences in how they do so. Popularity Advanced Placement is by far the more popular program.In 20142.3 million students took AP tests, and in 2017 this number rose to more than 2.7 million. By contrast,only about 160,000 students took IB exams in 2017. The diploma pass rate was 78.4%. Some families opt for the IB program over the AP program as it's rarer and can help set students apart in the admissions process. Diploma IB was designed as a diploma program (although, as we discussed above, it is possible to take just a few IB classes for college credit). Meanwhile,the AP program was designed around advanced classes- not a diploma. (That said, the AP has created a competitor to IB via the AP International Diploma, whichyou can read about here.) Class Curricula IB curricula are stricter for teachers. IB has certain required assignments your teacher has to grade, such as oral presentations, as part of the internal assessment. In contrast, AP teachers have a bit more freedom in how they may teach an AP course, just so long as they're effectively preparing students for the exam. Difficulty IB Higher Level courses are often considered more difficult than APs, whereas IB Standard Level courses are considered the same as or easier than APs. Keep in mind that how difficult a class is to pass at your school will vary depending on the teacher and his or her curriculum. Exam Content IB exams contain more writing and application of ideas, whereas APs are more about proving what you know. This is why AP exams have more multiple choice, while the IB exams feature more short-response questions, essays, and case studies. Cost IB exams are more expensive than AP tests since there's a registration fee and a fee per exam. For AP exams, you just pay for the exam, which is $94. Remember that these fees are much lower than college tuition for the same classes! College Credit Getting AP credit can be more straightforward since more US colleges are familiar with it and the College Board officially sets a passing grade (3 out of 5) while IB does not. Furthermore, because AP courses only come in one difficulty level, it can be easier for colleges to set credit policies for AP exams. For IB, colleges have to decide how they'll handle Standard Level and Higher Level courses. However, for both IB and AP, the higher your passing score is, the more likely you are to get credit for college. For example, an AP exam score of 5 nearly always earns credit, the same as an IB score of 7 does. Don't forget this when you're studying! What’s Next? You know a lot about IB- but what about AP? See our guide to what AP classes are and why you should take them. Also studying for the SAT or ACT? Figure out which exam you're more likely to do the best on! Get a timeline for studying for the SAT/ACT. Planning ahead will give you the opportunity to get a higher score on test day! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Timeline of Queen Annes War

Timeline of Queen Anne's War Queen Anne’s War was known as the War of Spanish Succession in Europe. It raged from 1702 to 1713. During the war, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and several German states fought against France and Spain. Just as with King Williams War before it, border raids and fighting occurred between the French and English in North America. This would not be the last of the fighting between these two colonial powers. Growing Instability in Europe King Charles II of Spain was childless and in ill health, so European leaders began laying claims to the succeed him as the King of Spain. King Louis XIV of France wished to place his eldest son on the throne who was a grandson of King Philip IV of Spain. However, England and the Netherlands did not want France and Spain to be unified in this way. Upon his deathbed, Charles II Named Philip, Duke of Anjou, as his heir. Philip also happened to be Louis XIV’s grandson. Worried about France’s growing strength and its ability to control Spanish possessions in the Netherlands, England, the Dutch, and key German states in the Holy Roman Empire joined together to oppose the French. Their goal was to take the throne away from the Bourbon family along with gaining control of certain Spanish held locations in the Netherlands and Italy. Thus, the War of Spanish Succession began in 1702. Queen Anne’s War Begins William III died in 1702 and was succeeded by Queen Anne. She was his sister-in-law and daughter of James II, from whom William had taken the throne. The war consumed most of her reign. In America, the war became known as Queen Annes War and consisted mainly of French privateering in the Atlantic and French and Indian raids on the frontier between England and France. The most notable of these raids occurred at Deerfield, Massachusetts on February 29, 1704. French and Native American forces raided the city, killing 56 including 9 women and 25 children. They captured 109, marching them north to Canada. Taking of Port Royal In 1707, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire made a failed attempted to take Port Royal, French Acadia. However, a new attempt was made with a fleet from England led by Francis Nicholson and troops from New England. It arrived at Port Royal on October 12, 1710, and the city surrendered on October 13th. At this point, the name was changed to Annapolis and French Acadia became Nova Scotia. In 1711, the British and New England forces attempted a conquest of Quebec. However, numerous British transports and men were lost heading north on the St. Lawrence River causing Nicholson to stop the assault before it began. Nicholson was named Governor of Nova Scotia in 1712. As a side note, he would later be named the governor of South Carolina in 1720. Treaty of Utrecht The war officially ended on April 11, 1713, with the Treaty of Utrecht. Through this treaty, Great Britain was given Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Further, Britain received title to the fur trading posts around Hudson Bay. This peace did little to solve all the issues between France and Great Britain in North America and three years later, they would be fighting again in King George’s War. Sources: Ciment, James. Colonial America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History. M.E. Sharpe. 2006. -. Nicholson, Francis. Dictionary of Candian Biography Online. University of Toronto. 2000.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Career paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Career paper - Essay Example I would like to become a property manager in Colliers International. This firm is a renowned real estate agency that has been in operational for the past couple of years. As an international firm, the company has managed to gain worldwide recognition in the real estate business hence making them one of the best in the market. As a rule, I always work want to work with the best in the field of my choice. I believe that this real estate work will provide me with satisfaction since it is what has been a family business for the past 20 years. With me getting that post will be the greatest thing that has ever happened in our family. In my goals, making a choice to do property management course in a reputable university is my first target. In order to get to do property management course, one should have scored a good grade in high school, something which I am aware. Therefore, it will be through hard-work and support that I will be able to achieve the high grades in high school. That means spending hours in my study room and consulting with my teachers. After that, I would have to gain entry into a reputable university that offers real estate courses, in particular, property management. In the four years that I will be in campus, means I have to also score good grades in order to attain a first class honors. This will entail a lot of sacrifice from my part since University life is not as easy like high school due to a lot of temptation from friends. I would stay away from being influenced by peer pressure and stay focused on my course. I will attend all lessons so as not to miss anything and constantly revise my notes. Furthermore, I would seek help from my senior lectures in regard to tips in property management. Eventually, after attaining my first class honors, I would apply for a job of a junior property manager at our county, so as to gain experience of the matter. I will dedicate my time in ensuring that I

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Holocaust Memorial Visit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Holocaust Memorial Visit - Assignment Example The exclusivity of commemorating the Jewish victims For a race that was almost annihilated and made extinct by Hitler’s genocide, it is only proper that their suffering is commemorated and such remembrance will only be exclusive to them. The purpose is not to dilute the message of how terrible a war crime is when the commemoration is remembered along with other circumstances during the Second World War. Their pain and suffering during the war cannot be compensated by any gesture but at least that by solely remembering them can mitigate the pain caused by the Holocaust. Eisenmann’s preference of No Ort. My stand. It is quite absurd as an idea for a Museum to be built underground because it defeats the very purpose of erecting that Museum. Museums are built to memorialize or remember something. To memorialize and remember it, the museum has to be seen by the most number of people possible. Constructing it underground not only defeats its purpose but it sends the message that it is concealing the atrocities that were done to the Jews during the Holocaust. Why the US taxpayers money should not be used to commemorate the Jewish victims It is the Germans who committed those war crimes against the Jews during the Second World War and not the Americans. And as such, it is only proper that German’s taxpayer should be used to build those monuments as a form of remuneration for what they have done to the Jews during the Holocaust. Americans should not pay to commemorate a crime they did not commit.

Saturday, January 25, 2020

The Perfect Drug :: Illegal Drugs Anti-Depressants Essays

The Perfect Drug Is money the perfect drug, a cure all pill that will take away all misery, anguish, and suffering; or is it an addictive depressant, sending us on the downward spiral towards death? The truth of life is that money lures us in with its appealing image, creates a dependency, and gradually rends us a soulless slave to it. â€Å"And I want you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Almost all of America today is consumed by a need to attain great wealth, reputation, and worldly possessions. Everything is about what job can be attained, who can be impressed, or what possessions we are about to surround ourselves with. To this end, we are enraptured by a need for as much money as possible. This can come by the means of anything from playing the lottery to investing to working at a job that we hate. Torturing ourselves to gain wealth and power, we willingly accept the pains of the 8AM - 5PM day to feel a small amount of happiness from 6PM-10PM. The high that is gained by this small increase in wealth is just enough to keep us coming back for more, the addiction just enough to create a dependency that is both strong and invisible. We are so captivated by the false happiness of wealth that we fail to recognize the shallow truth of it all: that we are slaves to our money. Just like addicts to heroin, we cannot live without money, and we always crave more. However, just because we have more money doesn’t mean that we’ll have more to spend. We almost immediately will take any gained wealth and put it towards an increase in living style, such that our spending money remains virtually the same as it was whenever we had less money overall. These changes in living style are usually some material possession like a car that we see ourselves as needing to have. Take the example of the suburban yuppies driving around in SUV’s and worse, Hummers. Are such robust vehicles really necessary for tackling the rough streets of suburbia? The obvious answer here is no, but it mustn’t be too obvious, because these types of vehicles can be seen everyday out of their intended setting. This brings up the point of their use, which is to make sure that the drivers look more powerful than anyone else around them. What’s

Friday, January 17, 2020

Explain the Importance of Safeguarding Children and Young People

a. Explain the importance of safeguarding children and young people It is important to safeguard children and young people as without this protection their future could be negatively affected. Their health and development could be impaired as its possible they could withdraw from family and peers which would affect them emotionally and also developmentally fall behind with educational milestones (if school is missed). Children and young people need to be protected from neglect and abuse and have a safe environment in which to grown up in with parents, teachers and any other close adult being approachable and accessible if needed, when/if any problem or concerns were to arise. This is all crucial in a child’s upbringing as the care they receive through their childhood will contribute to the success of the child’s ability to reach their full potential into adulthood. . Explain the importance of a child or young person centred approach It is important to use a centred approach when safeguarding children. As this will give you the first hand opinion and facts from the child including feelings and wishes about their current situation and their future. This will make the organisations response more accurate and appropriate to meet the specific needs of the child or young person. It is important therefore to develop a trusting relationship with the child or young person as this will make it easier to discuss their wishes and concerns, which will give the professionals the opportunity to involve the child or young person where possible in decision making about current intervention if necessary and any future action, as ‘the unknown’ will undoubtedly be a worry to the child so hopefully making them aware step by step will make the process less daunting and give a more accurate diagnosis to the problem.