KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Attempting to go deeper in the understanding of IB.

One Uni’s view on IB:

why Uni seem to favour IB:

“Its breath and how it helps students pull things together”
https://youtu.be/KWCcR4mTliQ

Seem to imply IB requires consistencies, in both works and aptitudes:
https://youtu.be/kk6zrCQK6rk

lee_yl wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 10:15 am

No parent ask probably because parents don’t feel the need to.

My sample size may be small but so far, the handful of NUS High students I know had tscore of 250 and above with most being geppers. Whereas for IB, in International schools, students with tscore 200 and below are accepted.

Those who had tried to DSA into NUS High before would know that the entrance test is stringent. At least, the DSA is academic based and not in some form of art or sports. At least we know that students in NUS High get in on their own academic merit.

Exactly !
This is reality.
The facts are laid bare, before us.

The difference (margin) between Tscore (200 vs. 250), is SO tremendously huge !

bbbay wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 10:47 am

Attempting to go deeper in the understanding of IB.

One Uni’s view on IB:

why Uni seem to favour IB:

“Its breath and how it helps students pull things together”
https://youtu.be/KWCcR4mTliQ

Seem to imply IB requires consistencies, in both works and aptitudes:
https://youtu.be/kk6zrCQK6rk

I think you've partly misunderstood the first video. The first 30 seconds of the video / her initial statements talk about how selective universities are looking for students that have taken coursework similar to the university level. IB does that, as do Singapore A Level H2 or Advanced Placement (AP) courses. IB does have a defined breadth, more than Singapore A Level, but likely on par with a general Grade 6 - Grade 12 education in most Western countries.

Please note, this video is not a comparison of the school's view of Singapore A Level vs. IB; instead it is talking about the IB and what sets it apart in general. With due respect, you would likely need some knowledge of the wide range of school offerings elsewhere and how they are different from what kids (targeting universities like the one in the video) have available to them here to understand why she said what she said. For clarity, this is not (me) saying the IB is any worse than Singapore A Level or whatever into universities like the one in the video.

For the second video, while what you've stated may be true, the video is talking about something entirely different. It is simply a comment about whether the Final IB Scores actually matter (as for those in the Western Hemisphere, the admissions offers will have been made before the Final Scores are in). She is only stating that the university cares about the scores and there may be ramifications (although usually there are not). Quite frankly, I don't know why other statements or conclusions would be made based on what was said in the video.

I found an interesting comment by a tutor who taught both IB and A levels curriculum.

A tutor at Quintessential Education, which offers tuition for IB students, said IB coverage is more extensive, but the final exams tend to be less challenging than the A levels. (10 Jan 2021)

Another interesting comment from the same tutor:

"Children who are more exam-savvy might do better in the A-level exams... The IB exams benefit students who are good at time management, independent learning and research," he said.

Exam-savvy students, I believe time management is a given trait in them. Independent learning...all students who have gone thru Singapore's primary schools have already gone through the "Teach Less, learn More" passage of rite.... Perhaps they need some guidance in research which I do not think all IB students are born researchers either, they need to learn. The conversion of more kids to IB skills would appear possible.

The other thing is "exam-savvy students ONLY 'might do better".....BUT IB exam BENEFIT students....." .that already says a lot. The active and passive form hints at which is the driver. The driver in A level exams are the traits of the students themselves first whereas the driver in IB exams is the system first before the students' traits. So don't we want a system that can benefit more students?

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ ... s-differ-0

lee_yl wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 10:15 am

No parent ask probably because parents don’t feel the need to.

My sample size may be small but so far, the handful of NUS High students I know had tscore of 250 and above with most being geppers. Whereas for IB, in International schools, students with tscore 200 and below are accepted.

Those who had tried to DSA into NUS High before would know that the entrance test is stringent. At least, the DSA is academic based and not in some form of art or sports. At least we know that students in NUS High get in on their own academic merit.

If asking for transparency, should apply for all. I thought this is about asking for one exam equivalent standard for uni admission isn't it??

Hmm... Earlier, it was about getting under achievers in A level who may not get a place in local uni??

Now it becomes kids with 250 or more in psle?

ACSI ib and sji ib are 250 and above too.

If asking for transparency, should apply for all.

00skyblue00 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 5:25 pm

If asking for transparency, should apply for all. I thought this is about asking for one exam equivalent standard for uni admission isn't it??

Hmm... Earlier, it was about getting under achievers in A level who may not get a place in local uni??

Now it becomes kids with 250 or more in psle?

ACSI ib and sji ib are 250 and above too.

If asking for transparency, should apply for all.

You may have misinterpreted my points.

Data transparency for local universities admission is recognized as useful for an informed choice so let’s start with being transparent for IB which has a student population of 2,000+ before moving to NUS High with a student population of 200+

I have no issue with ACS(I) and SJI students getting into universities but thus far, no one is able to convincingly share why these mainstream IB schools are able to turn out an educational wonder within 6 years by churning out an equivalent (or higher) proportion of top scorers than RI/HCI despite taking in students with lower PSLE t-score. Plus SOTA and SSP also have more than 50% of their student population turning out to be academically brilliant when most of their cohort do not have tscore at 250 or better.

Not to mention the stellar performance of international schools doing IB despite taking in students with PSLE t-score of 200 or below. This group of international schools’ IB students could have displaced some of the under-achievers in A-levels due to the limited places in local universities. So why did you choose to deliberately ignore the presence of this group of international schools?

lee_yl wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:00 pm

I have no issue with ACS(I) and SJI students getting into universities but thus far, no one is able to convincingly share why these mainstream IB schools are able to turn out an educational wonder within 6 years by churning out an equivalent (or higher) proportion of top scorers than RI/HCI despite taking in students with lower PSLE t-score. Plus SOTA and SSP also have more than 50% of their student population turning out to be academically brilliant when most of their cohort do not have tscore at 250 or better.

Woah... where did you get this statistic from? Seems like quite a broad (and possibly unfair) statement.

Imp75 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 01, 2022 1:41 pm

For top scorers, they will thrive in either systems now whether they are disadvantaged in terms of holistic exposure is really up to individual.
What about the 220-240? A girl I knew got 228 went neighbourhood sec Sch, got net 7 went NJC struggling now with 3H2. Should she hv known about this IB path and choose SJI instead or perhaps better shot at going uni?

So while JAE parents are thinking whether their kids may struggle to adapt in IB if they join in Yr5 instead of Yr1, the irony is that there are JAE students struggling to do well in 3H2.

Seems like IB 38 points can get one into most of the courses in the 3 local universities (except law/med/dentistry) as well as SMU Comp Sc
while IB 34-35 points can get into NTU Business.

269 students took IB in SJI in 2021, of whom, 230 (or 85.5%) scored 40points or better. Which means, as long as one is not among the last few in SJI, one has a good chance of scoring at least 40pts or better to be eligible for most course in the 3 local universities. Amazing educational achievement which none of the IP JCs (besides RI & HCI) could match

Mr.Clumsy wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 10:09 pm

Woah... where did you get this statistic from? Seems like quite a broad (and possibly unfair) statement.

Then on what basis do you stake your counter-claim?

Since your DS has a SOTA CO, why not you check with the Principal during the Year 1 orientation and update us lor.

lee_yl wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 02, 2022 11:18 pm

Then on what basis do you stake your counter-claim?

Since your DS has a SOTA CO, why not you check with the Principal during the Year 1 orientation and update us lor.

Wow. What counter-claim are you referring to?

Really classy reply by the way.