1) Does the IB go against a student's natural development? 2)The IB does not allow proper specialisation
3) A low grade in one higher subject prevents Diploma attainment 4) Compulsory community service
5) IB is a rigorous program for highly motivated students 6) Possibility of over 10 exams in 10 school days
7) Students have to do subjects they may have no interest or 8) Why are we changing a system that isn't skill in "broken"
9) Certain examinations based on regurgitation of facts 10) Pilot run at Sha Tin not 100% a success
11) Opinion's of teachers not shared by ESF 12) How will the weaker students cope?
13) Students learn by 1 method and then must adjust to another 14) The huge costs of IB
15) The IB is a business not a govt organisation 16) The IB is not as widely accepted as ESF says
17) Non-native English speakers disadvantaged?
2) One IB subject equates to 80% of an A-level (according to research by an organisation in Hong Kong)
Does the IB go against a student's natural development?
3) Breadth and variety may seem desirable to some parents but it goes against a child's natural development. According to current child development theories, at approximately 16 a child's brain has started to specialise. It is no longer 'breadth-orientated'.
The question must then be asked, does the IB force students to go against their natural development? There are exceptions to this development theory, but how many students are natural all-rounders? One should also consider that the IB does not allow students to significantly specialise, while the A/S levels cater for ALL types of students.
The IB does not allow proper specialisation
4) It is compulsary for the students to take English, a foreign language and maths, it cannot be ignored that there are very few students who would not admit to being very relieved to have ended their studies in one or two or all of these subjects after GCSE.
5) In relation to the above point, the lowest IB level of maths that can be studied is only slightly above the level of the current GCSE maths. Students will then be studying the same aspects at the same level for four years as there is a limited advance up from GCSE.
6) GCSE Maths and English (usually at grade C or above) have been confirmed by numerous sources and universities as being adequate for a student's future who is not planning to pursue them directly in their university courses.
7) A significant portion of students choose to undertake three sciences at A-Level, this however is impossible to do under the IB system. This significantly affects students planning to undertake a university course or career in science subjects such as medicine etc.
A low grade in one higher subject preventsDiploma attainment
8) If the student achieves below 4 out of 7 in just ONE of their higher level subjects then ALL their subjects are penalised. They can no longer achieve a diploma. The ESF has not informed the parents of this.
Compulsory community service
9) Students must spend at least 4 hours per week on CAS (Creative Action Service). Effecitvely this is community service and is not an option, there are strict monitoring procedures and record keeping which each student must satisfy. There are no grades awarded for this but there must be completion of this section in order for the student to complete and pass IB.
It has been argued that the point of community service is that it is voluntary and that forcing students to do something against their heart can only have negative consequences. One argument that should also be noted is if IB is implemented and community service is compulsary then there will be nothing to separate/distinguish each student from the next. A student will not stand out against the others and their commitments to the community which may be impressive will still merge and fade with every other students work
IB is a rigorous program only for highly motivated students
10) It is widely recognised that IB is more demanding and time consuming then A levels and that stress does not include the 4 hours a week of community service and the 4000 word "theory of knowledge" essay. Any community, sports or music activity undertaken by an A level student can be controlled by the student as it is all voluntary.
11) The IB Organisation (www.ibo.org) states it is a "rigorous" program for "highly motivated" students. Does that not suggest that it is a programme not suitable for non selective schools like the ESF ones who accept all students regardless of their academic ability.
12) The IB therefore makes no provision for children with special needs such as dyslexia, unlike the A-Levels. The A-level method caters for the excellent and the weaker system.
Possibility of over 10 exams in only 10 days
13) The IB exams consist of 11/2 to 3 hour papers sometimes with 3 papers per subject (6 subjects overall). The exams are also only held within a two week period meaning at the absolute most a student could have 18 examination papers in 10 days!
14) Two years worth of work is examined in two weeks. It is common knowledge amongst students that they prefer the modular system of the A/S levels where one years worth of material is covered in an examination period. Sha Tin College students who have undertaken the IB have commented that the exams were very tiring and it was so much to stress having to regurgitate 2 years worth of work in so short a time frame.
15) Coursework (of which there is much more with the IB) covers between 20-50% so in some cases students can be sitting 3 hour papers for just 50% of their total mark