Want to Read About Home Schooling? Tell Us All About It.

Silver Spring

I have been looking at this issue for a long time. The research convinces me that for most U.S. elementary students, the problem is not setting math objectives too high, but too low. Montgomery and many other districts in the Washington suburbs are not typical, so we may have a problem. But I see absolutely no data supporting your impression that we are pushing too many kids too far. Anybody got any?

Dear Extra Credit:

I take exception to Michael Herd's comments ["When Achievement Push Comes To Shove," Sept. 11] that International Baccalaureate schools cater only to "elite" students. This is certainly not the case at Edison High School in Fairfax County, where I teach. At Edison, we encourage all students, even those not pursing a full IB diploma, to take IB classes.

If Mr. Herd were to check our course enrollment numbers he would see that students at Edison are accepting this challenge. The IB course I teach, Mathematical Studies, is similar to a college-level Math for the Liberal Arts course. To encourage more students to take and succeed in an IB math class, Edison teaches this course in a two-year track. Last year, all 72 students who sat for the IB exam in this course received a minimum passing score of 4, and 80 percent received a 5 or 6. In addition, their mean score of 5.33 was tied with Marshall High School's for the highest in the county. These students can be justifiably proud of their IB exam scores.

J.A. Adelman

Edison High School

Well said. I hope Mr. Herd has a chance to visit your school some day. Take a look at the Schools and Learning page in the Metro section of The Post on Oct. 20. It is scheduled to be devoted to IB in the Washington area.

Please send your questions, along with your name, e-mail or postal address and telephone number, to Extra Credit, The Washington Post, 526 King St., Suite 515, Alexandria, Va. 22314. Or e-mailextracredit@washpost.com.