If you’re a McCaskey student, teacher, or community member, chances are that you have heard of the IB diploma. The internationally recognized program allows students to take college courses while in high school and “aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help create a better and more peaceful world.” 

Students who decide to pursue this path will graduate with an additional diploma, preparation for college, and the possibility of free credits, if their applied school accepts. Students on free or reduced lunch will be able to take these courses at no price to them. Everyone else will only have to pay $113 for the exam fee.

The IB diploma has strict rules as to which classes applicants can take. Although McCaskey offers 24 IB courses (most of which can be taken without the diploma), many diploma candidates find that they are still left with limited time in their schedules to take the electives they want to. 

Outside the program, students may believe they aren’t smart enough, when they simply have different strengths than what has been deemed intelligent. Inside the program, students can begin to let the title get to their head. They may believe that they don’t truly have to put in the work, and instead just get good grades. They won’t learn the sensitive topics the IB courses teach if they are looking at them shallowly. 

When asked how they felt about the IB diploma, several students reported feeling pressured by their teachers, peers, and the general environment of the program. “I have been in situations where I’ve been pressured to pursue the IB diploma because I’m smart and I have good grades,” said one student. The fact that the IB diploma is often presented to honors students as the only “right” path to take is deeply concerning. They are told that they are smart enough to take the diploma, and so they should. IB students are then seen as “the smart kids,” which negatively impacts everyone. 

There can also be an extreme level of competition in the IB program. There have been times in my IB classes where people talk solely about grades and class rank. Students I spoke to after these conversations agreed that topics like these left them feeling worse about themselves and ultimately less motivated. Although it may produce good grades now, competition can eventually limit students’ results by worsening their mental health.

Some students also observed that IB classes were less diverse than AP and non-honors classes. They mentioned feeling uncomfortable in classes that preached diversity to a mostly white, uninterested crowd, which ultimately pushed them away from the program. 

These issues aside, the IB diploma is extremely successful at preparing students for college, and inspires many students to think in ways they hadn’t before. “I have taught in the IB Diploma program for 15 years,” said Alison Browning, a French and Theory of Knowledge teacher. “Teaching in IB pushes me to try new things so that my students can learn new skills, information, and how to be global citizens,” she added. 

Another McCaskey teacher emphasized the importance of the program, saying, “The values that are part of the IB program help create informed people and life-long learners.”

Most of the issues students had with IB were in how it was advertised and managed, which administrators are trying to combat with a new campaign #IB4ALL.

It is important to remember, however, that the IB Diploma is just one of many excellent pathways offered by McCaskey. Although this new campaign promises to be better at advertising to non-honors students, there are other options—dual enrollment, AP, or otherwise—which deserve to be talked about and valued simultaneously.