FIRST STUDY COMPARING INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME WITH UK A LEVELS DEMONSTRATES STRENGTH OF IB DIPLOMA CURRICULUM GLOBALLY

Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) releases study that finds IB Diploma students more likely to enroll within the Top 20 Higher Ed Institutions in the UK

The report provides an overview of IB student characteristics and analysis of enrolment patterns at the top HEIs, chosen fields of study, achievement and non-continuation rates, as well as activities approximately six months after leaving HEIs.

“The study by HESA supports the recent studies released in the United States supporting the IB Diploma as excellent preparation for university and college success,” said Drew Deutsch, Director of IB Americas.

Key findings include:

Achievement – More than double the number of IB entrants attended the top HEIs compared with A Level entrants, when taken in proportion. 91% of IB entrants holding 44-45 exam points attended one of the top 20 HEIs. Approximately a fifth (19%) of IB entrants with a full-time first degree achieved a first class honors award compared to 14.5% of first degree qualifiers who held A Level or equivalent qualifications. IB entrants are almost twice as likely to study Medicine and Dentistry (5.1%) as A Level entrants (2.9%).

Continuation rates (measure of attrition/dropout) – Results show that across most subject areas IB entrants were less likely to leave their institution in the following year without gaining an award, than entrants holding other types of qualifications. 91.1% of IB entrants continued at the same institution compared to 89.5% for A level entrants.

Activities of IB Diploma students – Six months after leaving tertiary studies, IB students (36%) are almost twice as likely as their A Level and equivalent peers (18.8%) to pursue further study full time, and more likely to be employed in graduate level jobs and in higher paid occupations than A Level and equivalent leavers. A greater proportion of IB than A level leavers are employed within professional, scientific and technical activities.

Salaries of full-time employed IB Diploma students – The median annual salary of IB Diploma students in full-time paid employment was higher at £20,500, than that of A Level and equivalent leavers at £19,000.

The report sources data from the International Baccalaureate and data from the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom to identify characteristics and trends of IB students compared with students holding the more traditional A Levels, Scottish Higher and other level three qualifications. The majority of the data has been restricted to the academic year 2008/2009 with some comparisons with the academic year 2007/2008. Of the 423,455 full-time entrants to first degree courses across the 165 HEIs in UK, 1.5%, 56.7% and 10.8% were identified as holding IB qualifications, A Level qualifications and A Level equivalent qualifications respectively.

This study joins a growing body of evidence that the IB Diploma Programme prepares students for success at the university level and beyond, including three recently released studies on the US postsecondary performance of IB students. The complete study, and others, can be downloaded at: www.ibo.org/research/programmevalidation/index.cfm

About the International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate is a not-for profit foundation, which offers three high quality and challenging educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools. For over 40 years, IB programmes have gained a reputation for their high academic standards, for preparing students for life in a globalised 21st century, and for helping to develop the citizens who will create a better, more peaceful world. The IB currently works with over 3,230 schools in 141 countries. To learn more, please visit www.ibo.org.

International Baccalaureate: Education for the rich

International Baccalaureate (IB) as a curriculum is gaining recognition among elite parents intending to send their wards abroad for higher studies. It is gradually emerging as an alternative to conventional education with many schools in Delhi and other big cities.

"The advantages of studying in IB schools are many: Students are taught to question teachers at early level, teaching methodology is interactive and most important higher education becomes easier for IB students."

So far, India has 74 IB schools. IB curriculum is exclusive for children belong to upper middle class and the rich. It's fee structure is anytime higher then the ICSE and CBSE schools. For instance, one School charges Rs 80,000 at entry level (grade below Class V) and Rs 1, 50,000 at diploma level (Class XI and XII). This is claimed to be the minimum fee structure for any IB school in India. It has been learnt that a few IB schools in Delhi and Mumbai charge Rs 6 lakh per annum.

Will an IB Diploma student be able to appear for the entrance examinations for admission to professional courses like engineering, medicine, management, law in India?

"IB students have an edge in appearing for exams like CET, PMT, IIT, BMS, CPT and CLAT. They are better equipped due to the in-depth self-study undertaken during the IB Diploma Programme." The assessment of students is done through internal tests, projects, portfolios, commentaries and essays. Even participation in community service is assessed.

The main highlight of this curriculum is that many universities in the US award transfer credits to IB Diploma graduates. These credits could translate into saving from six months to a year during the undergraduate degree courses.

"It is difficult for us to convince parents to switchover to this curriculum," said Arpit Sharma, IB coordinator. He believes that rise in per capita income of Indians will brighten the prospects of IB schools in future.

The Association of Indian Universities recognizes the IB Diploma (Class XII) equivalent to plus two class of CBSE, ICSE and other state boards.

For IB Tutor, past years paper and guidance and assistance in Portfolio, Visit: http://www.tutorwala.com/ib_board_tutor.php

Courtsey: Shoeb Khan, TNN Feb 2, 2011

Scholarship Awareness Series 1- NTSE

National Talent Search Exam

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) was established by the Government of India in the year 1961 with a view to bringing about qualitative improvement in school education in the country. No sooner the Council was set up than it mounted a number of programmes in this direction. One such programme was to identify and nurture the talented students. This programme took up the shape of a scheme called National Science Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS) in the year 1963 which provided for the identification of talented students and awarding them with scholarships. During the first year of the implementation of the scheme, it was confined to the Union Territory of Delhi wherein only 10 scholarships were awarded to the Class XI students.
In the year 1964 the scheme was extended to all the states and the union territories in the country with 350 scholarships for the students of Class XI. These scholarships were awarded on the basis of a written examination, a project report and interview. The written examination comprised the Science Aptitude Test and an Essay on a given scientific theme. The candidates were to submit the project report at the time of the written examination. A stipulated number of candidates selected on the basis of these three components were then subjected to personal interview. The performance of the candidates on these four components was eventually employed for the purpose of awarding scholarships. These scholarships were awarded for pursuing education only in basic sciences up to doctoral level.
Consequent upon the introduction of 10+2+3 pattern of education, the NSTS scheme also underwent a change in the year 1976. It was no longer confined to only basic sciences but was extended to social sciences, engineering and medicine as well. It was renamed as National Talent Search Scheme (NTSS). Since the education system in the country was undergoing a change, the scheme was made open to the students of Classes X, XI and XII and separate examinations were conducted for each class. The number of scholarships was raised to 500. The selection procedure was also changed. Now the candidates were subjected to two objective type written tests namely the Mental Ability Test (MAT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). A stipulated number of candidates qualifying these two tests were subjected to face-to-face interview. The final awards were made on the basis of composite scores obtained in the MAT, the SAT and the interview.
The number of scholarships was again enhanced from 500 to 550 in the year 1981. These 50 scholarships were exclusively meant for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates. The number of scholarships was once again escalated to 750 in the year 1983 with a provision of 70 scholarships especially for SC/ST candidates. This arrangement continued until the scheme was decentralised in the year 1985. In the year 2000, the number of scholarships was raised from 750 to 1000 with the provision of reservation for SC and ST candidates based on the national norms of 15 per cent and 7½ per cent respectively.
Yet another change in the scheme has been made in the year 2006 wherein the NTS examination will now be held at the end of Class VIII. However, the NCERT will conduct two more examinations for Class X students in the selection year 2007 and 2008 in order to give on opportunity to those who are presently in Classes X and IX.
From the 2008 examination, a provision of 3 per cent reservation has been made for Physically Challenged (PC).

2. METAMORPHOSIS OF THE SCHEME

An experience of over two decades of the scheme brought it to the forefront that a large number of scholarships were restricted to certain pockets of the country and many areas remained unrepresentative. In the light of this, the scheme was recast in 1985.
The scheme, which until now was completely centralised, was partially decentralised and was confined to only Class X Under the new arrangement the selection of candidates for the awards became a two-tier process. The states and the union territories were entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the first tier screening examination known as State Level Talent Search Examination. Each state and union territory was to select and recommend a stipulated number (state quota) of candidates for the national level examination to be conducted for about 3000 candidates by the NCERT. The number of scholarships, however still continued to be 750 including 70 for SC/ST candidates.
The state and the union territory quota were to be computed proportionately on the basis of the student enrolment at secondary level with a minimum of 10 for a union territory and 25 for a state and a maximum of 500 for either of the two. This quota was to be reviewed every three years.
The states had complete autonomy to design and conduct their written examinations. However, they were advised to follow the national pattern which comprised MAT and SAT. The MAT, which consisted of 100 multiple choice type questions, was to be attempted by all the candidates. The SAT consisted of 25 multiple choice type questions each on
eight subject areas namely Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, Civics and Economics. The candidates could choose any four out of these eight subjects and had to answer a total of 100 questions in the SAT. A stipulated number of candidates who qualified at the nationalleve1 examination were called for face-to-face interview. The award of scholarships was finally determined on the basis of the candidates' scores obtained in all the three components namely the MAT, the SAT and the Interview.
A crucial modification in the scheme was again made in the year 1995 when the provision of choice in the SAT was abolished and all the subjects were made compulsory. These subjects were Science, Social Science and Mathematics with 40, 40 and 20 questions respectively.
In the year 2000 the number of scholarships was raised from 750 to 1000.
A major change in the scheme came in 2006, The following modifications have been made in the scheme.More:http://www.tutorwala.com

The scheme has been brought down from Class X to Class VIII. The National Talent Search examination will be held at the end of Class VIII from the year 2007 onwards. The Class VIII MAT and SAT will consist of 90 questions each. SAT will have 35 questions for Social Science, 35 for Science and 20 for Mathematics. Quota for a state will be computed proportionally on the basis of student enrolment in Classes VII and VIII. The amount of scholarship has been enhanced to Rs 500/- per month for all the students studying in Class IX onwards (irrespective of the class/course) except for Ph.D., wherein it is paid as per UG9 norms.

The criterion of parental income for deciding payment of scholarship has been discontinued. Book grant has also been discontinued. From the 2008 examination, a provision of 3 per cent reservation has been made for physically challenged. The scholarships under the present scheme are awarded to the candidates for pursuing courses in sciences and social sciences up to doctoral level and in professional courses like medicine and engineering up to second-degree level subject to the fulfillment of the conditions provided in this brochure.

For NTS National Level Examination Inquiry:
Phone No :	011-26560464
E-mail :	ntse.ncert@yahoo.in
For State Level NTS Examination Enquiry : Contact the Liaison Officer of your State
For NTS Scholarship Inquiry:
Phone No :	011-26562704 (Timings 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM only)
E-mail :	ntse2@yahoo.co.in

Source: http://www.ncert.nic.in/programmes/talent_exam/index_talent.html

For More Info Visit : http://www.tutorwala.com

 

The Math Gender gap: Nurture Trumps Nature

Published on http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/30/the-math-gender-gap-nurture-can-trump-nature/
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Rural India might not seem a likely place to study the roots of gender differences in math performance. But a new study of two tribes living in the northeast of the country offers intriguing evidence that biology alone does not determine women's math aptitude (or lack thereof, as former Harvard President Lawrence Summers once infamously suggested) and that culture has a lot to do with the differences between the genders.
Prior research has found that fewer than 10% of tenured math professors are women at Phd-granting institutions (only 7% are full professors at top 100 universities)*, so understanding the reasons for the disparity could help address it. The new study of members of the Khasi and Karbi tribes of India suggests that the influence of culture can virtually eliminate at least some of the gender differences.
Researchers led by Moshe Hoffman, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego, studied villagers from both tribes. Genetically, the Khasi and Karbi are highly similar: the groups only became separate a few hundred years ago and some intermarriage continues. Both groups are also subsistence farmers, living mainly on rice in a hilly region that gets world-record levels of rainfall.
Culturally, however, they are quite distinct. The Karbi are patrilineal. Women are only rarely allowed to own land and the eldest son in each family inherits the property. Political and religious leadership is male-dominated and girls leave school nearly four years earlier than boys.
Among the Khasi, though, women are the landowners, with no exceptions. Inheritance goes to the youngest daughter and men are not supposed to handle money. Even cash earned by men working outside the family farm is typically given to their wives. Both genders are equally educated.
The Khasi are not completely matriarchal, however. Men do make up the political and religious leadership. (These variant land practices are permitted in India, as the tribal regions are semi-autonomous, similar to American Indian reservations.)

Hoffman and his colleagues studied 1,279 people, from four Khasi and four Karbi villages, paying them for their time to test their ability to solve block puzzles. Each block was divided into four parts and tests were scored by how fast people could accurately assemble the pictures painted on them. The puzzles were designed to test participants' spatial abilities, which are linked to math and science aptitude.
Among the male-dominated Karbi, men were 36% faster at solving the block puzzles than women. But about a third of the overall difference was attributable to the greater education received by the boys among the Karbi, and the rest seemed to be linked to other cultural differences.
Among the Khasi, the difference between men and women was so small that it was not statistically significant. "This study tells us that culture does matter," says Hoffman. "What makes [it] unique is that we can control for biology."
Hoffman describes conversations he had with villagers that typify the differences. Among the Karbi, he spoke with an 18-year-old girl who had recently married. She had left school at age 8. "I asked her, 'Why didn't you keep going?'" She replied, "That would be a complete waste. Women are not smart enough to understand and would I never use it anyway."
Among the Khasi, however, it is male abilities that are the subject of negative stereotypes. Speaking to a Khasi woman, Hoffman confirmed that she handled the finances in her marriage. When asked why, she replied, "If you give a man money, he's just going to waste it on booze."

While the Karbi seemed typical on levels of trust and hospitality, the Khasi were exceptional in both, according to Hoffman. "They are some of the nicest people I've ever met," he says, describing how people welcomed and trusted him, even when he first arrived. For example, he once needed to buy almost all of the food in the town's lone store. When he didn't have appropriate change, the storekeeper gave Hoffman the food anyway, even though the two had never met before, saying to pay the next day.
The current study is not without its limitations, namely that the puzzle used to test villagers' spatial skills did not include the rotation of figures — similar to that seen in the computer game Tetris — which is used in traditional spatial-ability tests. Such tests were not used in this case, however, because the abstract objects would have been too unfamiliar to the Indian tribes.
Critics of the findings are bound to point to the lack of spatial-rotation testing, says Rebecca Goldin, director of research at science-media watchdog Stats.org and associate professor of mathematics at George Mason University. She was not connected with the study. (Full disclosure: Goldin and I are colleagues at Stats.org.)
"I think that is valid concern," she says. "But I do think the study certainly does suggest that some spatial abilities have a cultural influence. This fits into the large amount of literature that suggests that culture differences have a large impact on performance."

Indeed, culture is not limited simply to encouragement of young girls in grade-school math. Studies that have looked at gender gaps in math performance have found that the more equitably a country treats its people, the smaller that gap is. In Scandinavian countries, for example, where men and women share paid family leave and high quality day care is affordable, the gap is much narrower.
Girls in those countries see in their mothers' lives that child-rearing and math careers are not incompatible; the mothers also don't have to give up high powered jobs to have kids so they reach higher levels of equality with men at work.  Even in the U.S., the ranks of female math and science professors—including those in tenure-track positions— are growing appreciably.
"These questions of biology could be possibly relevant if we had solved all of the social problems," says Goldin. "It could be that there's a difference, but it doesn't matter when you have such gaping cultural differences."
Goldin has a family history that provides unique insight on the issue. Her father is a physicist, her sister is also a math professor and all three were educated at Harvard. "In my opinion, it has a lot to do with self-definition," Goldin says. "For boys, math is validated and opportunities abound to identify yourself as being mathematically strong and liking math — at least for white and Asian boys. It's really not there as much for girls."
Goldin notes that a huge proportion of her female math professor colleagues also had fathers who were scientists or mathematicians. "That could be genetic, who knows?" she says. "In my own personal life, my father intervened in many subtle and explicit ways." For instance, when principals or teachers tried to steer her away from math, her father objected and stopped them.
"It would be wrong [to conclude from the new study] that nature doesn't play a role. [But] nurture plays a substantial role, large enough that we can even see a gender difference wiped out," Hoffman says.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


*Updated to clarify statistic.
Maia Szalavitz is a health writer for TIME.com.