The Newsweek High School Rankings Boycott

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Newsreek nothing but lies,halftruths and fruad they deserve to be boycotted into bankruptsy

Flu-Bird of CA 12:39PM March 05, 2010

Good job trying to stir up some good ol' fashioned American patriotism there, former teacher. There's one problem with that. The IB is an international program (that is what the I stands for, after all), meaning that the program exists in other countries as well. Shocking, isn't it?
I also fail to see how the UN's "promoting itself in the IB classes" would help it to attain government status. The IB diploma programme is aimed at students between the ages of 16 and 19 years old; the IB Primary and Middle Years programmes are aimed at even younger students. Unless I'm mistaken, students aren't responsible for the UN and it's government status or lack thereof. Also, how is an international perspective a bad thing, given the trend of globalization in today's world?
Finally, I've talked with several fellow IB students around the world and there are considerable differences in the way our respective programs are run. So it's not THE IB that was oppressing you, it was your school's coordinator. Finally, you talk as if the IB curriculum is stunted or something. There's a difference between "oppressively limited" and "extremely detailed." The IB syllabi and Vade Mecum are the latter. If vague is your idea of "free," then you probably had no business educating the leaders of tomorrow in the first place.

a current IB candidate of FL 7:56PM November 15, 2008

While I admire the obviously monumental effort that went into your ranking of educational institutions, there is a fundamental flaw in your high school rankings that at best be deemed a significant error, and at worst, blatantly false and misleading advertising. Middle class parents, like myself, do NOT merely assess public schools when looking at where they should send their child. Nevertheless, when confronted with the US News "BEST HIGH SCHOOLS IN AMERICA" I assumed that the title was in fact being truthful. But it took me about a half hour digging through the online version of your rankings to find ANY mention of the fact that your list DOES NOT INCLUDE independent private schools. I live in Philadelphia and am looking at several private Quaker schools as well as public schools. A parent has to consider everything these days in order to find their child a good education. So when I saw your article, I assumed that the title -- like your "BEST COLLEGES" rankings -- indicated inclusion of both state/city/public schools, as well as private. But weirdly, that is not the case and US News is clearly mislabeling it in hopes of sounding dramatically broad in its scope.
The fact is, what you put in your educational rankings is your business. But selling magazines based on false promises is another. The title of your high school ranking -- which is essentially marketing, and therefore the title falls under the category of "advertising" -- almost seems to go out of its way to avoid admitting that it DOES NOT review private schools. Frankly, I think you are opening yourself up to a class action lawsuit that cites incorrect labeling of your ranking as false and misleading advertising. Aside from that... after 30 minutes of searching, it made me VERY angry.

Howard Coale of PA 10:03PM August 23, 2008

Hey come on guys! I am a high school teacher in Germany and before in London.
I have plenty of experience about the poor test results that Americans students have done and sadly continuing testing.
Even, in history or American government issues the Gymnasium studentes here in Germany are better informed than of our own kids!
Don't fool yourself, our education is very poor compared with other nations.
Math or Sciences, problem solving or logic... we're lagging!
Hurt but is our reality.
Laura Smith.

Laura Smith. 7:17AM August 17, 2008

I have 3 kids all who have participated in the IB program.
My oldest daughter graduated HS in 2000 with an IB diploma and was accepted by both UVA and William and Mary, both very tough to get accepted to. She also received college credit for a number of her classes (English & foreign language) She has since got both a BS and Masters from W&M and will tell you she never would have made it passed her freshman year if not for the rigorous study and extra writing required by IB. Unlike AP an IB diploma candidate must have a minimum number of public service hours and write a 3000 word paper completely separate from the other classes. Back in 2000 the dean of admissions at W&M stated that she believed the IB program was one of the best college prep programs public or private in the US.
My oldest son graduated from the same HS as my daughter in 04 but chose not to be an IB diploma candidate but take the IB certificate program instead. He is entering his senior year at Randolph-Macon College and was given a full semester of credit based on his IB test scores.
Next year my youngest son will graduate from the same HS and is an IB diploma candidate. He saw how IB helped his brother and sister prepare for and get into their college of choice and decided on his own to take what amounts to be college courses in HS.
I do not believe every student can be an IB diploma candidate but every student that plans on going to college should take AP or IB classes. Otherwise they will struggle in what most believe is the toughest year in college, their first.

Parent of IB students of VA 12:43PM June 11, 2008

We have had quite a few IB World school graduates (not sure I got the exact name correct) come to our college, and our problem is that although they come in as Freshmen with IB credit, they are academically closer to transfer students. The IB program is rigorous and deserves credit (in both senses) for training these students well. I am not sure where all of these "IB haters" are coming from, but the program is very good (my perspective is as a college professor who deals with these students all the time.

A Biology Prof of MO 12:01AM June 05, 2008

My public school district has one high school with approximately 650 students, grades 9-12. When the district first started discussing IB, the general impression amongst parents was that it would be "a nice little extra program", somewhat akin to our science research program. Then when it was implemented, the district eliminated Honors and Advanced Placement courses in grades 11 & 12. The only choice became IB or Regents, the most basic level. Since that time, there has been a complete clamp down on public information and the district has become hostile to any parents who dare to question the precious IB. IB dusrupted scheduling, as all other classes had to be scheduled around the Diploma students. Last year, only 14 out of 165 students got the IB diploma. Pre-IB, we used to have an average of 36 AP scholars every year. Imho, IB has destroyed the structure of our public high school. They even created a separate IB teacher's lounge to add to the elitist appeal!
But, as I said, I have no problem with running IB in a magnet program where students apply to be admitted.

Observer of NY 3:18PM April 27, 2008

Thank you for obtaining a "policy" statement from IBNA. There are a couple of points I would like to make in response to it.
First off, please note that the IB representative neither confirms nor denies the extent of invovlvement the UN/UNESCO has in its programs. I am not alone in my concerns about the reach of the UN's arm into our public schools and Paul Campbell has been quoted as saying that IBO has "nothing to do with UNESCO". Some people may love the involvement, some may not, but in terms of honest disclosure, it is as though the representative you spoke with is afraid to state it as so.
>>"the IB has received much support from governments and policymakers, including the US Department of Education and local school districts, to increase student achievement and to turnaround low performing schools. ">>
Now there's another interesting phrase; "to turn around low performing schools". My neighbor just yesterday asked me, "Well, does such and such prep school have IB? Does so and so prep use the IB curriculum?" No, and no, I had to reply. "Well if it is so wonderful, wouldn't those top private schools being using it?" Well, neighbor, one would think so after IB being around for 40 years. But then again, those are not "low performing schools".
>>"The core of our curriculum provides students with critical thinking skills, second language skills and an understanding of other cultures in order to prepare them for success in a global economy.">>
Of course, your IB representative doesn't mentiion that IB hasn't set any standards to speak of to deliver the "core curriculum" which you have to purchase in advance to even look and see what it consists of. This sentence is just a lot of flapping of gums in educationese and lacks substance of content. Then we are supposed to go visit our "local IB school". That's just great. A district should spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year based on the opinion of a small committee that observes a very staged presentation of an IB classroom in another school which is most likely demographically very different from the "investigating" school. IBO recommends this sort of field trip because it cannot provide substantive cumulative data for positive results of its programs over the years. Many schools have dropped it, many others fail to update their IB data and IB doesn't "report" in the same manner as The College Board. Furthermore, IBO does not believe in full financial disclosure like U.S. non-profits and refuses to reveal the salary of its Director General, Jeffrey Beard.

Observer of NY 3:10PM April 27, 2008

Yep, I attend International Academy, which pulls its students from many districts in Oakland County who come from many, many backgrounds. I agree that the IB program is not for everyone, but I think it deserves some room in a public high school setting. Some people who wanted to attend my high school couldn't because of sheer luck (though the school is public, there are a limited number of seats per district, so you only get the chance to attend if your name is drawn from your district's lottery). I think they should offer IB courses as an option/alternative to AP.
I'm just wondering, why are you so upset about UNESCO's involvement? What has the IB done to upset you?

Student of the IB of MI 8:42PM April 26, 2008

Above, you report that:
From 1977 the Heads Standing Conference (HSC) of Diploma Programme (DP) schools was formed and they began to pay the IB an annual registration fee.
I am curious to know the main sources of funding obtained by the HSC. Do they indicate their sources? If so, who gives, and how much?
Thank you.

Joshua Rosett of CA 3:40PM April 26, 2008