IB-AP High School Program Comparison
and FCPS Pupil Placement Information

FairfaxCAPS held an informational meeting at Rachel Carson Middle School on January 14, 2009.  A comparison of the AP and IB high school academic programs and information about the Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) pupil placement process was presented.  Additional information was provided offering guidance in the high school selection process.  Numerous handouts were distributed, which we hope will be helpful in understanding FCPS options.

Over 70 Fairfax County citizens, primarily middle school parents, attended the meeting.  Faye Brenner, FCPS Advanced Academics Program Specialist and Jeff Litz, Marshall high School IB Co-Coordinator, also attended the meeting.

Since the night of the meeting, FairfaxCAPS has received many emails and telephone calls from people who could not attend, requesting copies of the presentation and handouts.  In response, the presentation is posted on the FairfaxCAPS website.  It is primarily an outline of the meeting presentation topics.  Therefore, it does not convey all the information verbally presented.  However, the information provided on the slides is sufficient to help parents learn about key program differences and how to determine which is best for their child.  The presentation has been modified so that readers can now click on links to access more information and handouts.

The “IB-AP Comparison” slide has been modified.  It now provides links to updated, as well as, additional information.  The “AP-IB Comparison” handout distributed at the meeting has been revised and some corrections have been made.  Also on the same slide, you will find a link to the text of the “train” and “race car” analogies illustrating one perspective of the overall differences between the AP and IB programs.

We wish to thank all the volunteers who made this meeting possible.  We appreciate Faye Brenner’s willingness to answer parents’ specific questions about AP-IB program differences within Fairfax County and pupil placement procedures.

Please click on this link to access the presentation.

Thank you,
FairfaxCAPS