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Westwood High School International Baccalaureate AcademyWestwood High School International Baccalaureate Academy The Westwood High School International Baccalaureate Academy is a national leader in public preparatory education, located in the northwest suburbs of Austin, Texas. It is housed on the campus of Westwood High School, which services its own constituency of general secondary education students. Emerging out of an ad hoc process in the early 1990s, the International Baccalaureate Academy (formalized in 2001) is now home to one of the top IB Diploma programs in the United States. Students are selected by a search process of the talented and gifted programs at area middle schools throughout the Round Rock Independent School District, or less frequently, are laterally integrated from other honors work elsewhere if the program coordinator deems their background compatible with the IB Academys goals and requirements. Known for its very rigorous courseload (which leads to an attrition rate often over 50% for entering cohorts by the time of graduation), it provides an educational experience comparable to that found at more august boarding schools (and which was featured in Newsweek magazine). The program requires students to do university level work in the liberal arts tradition starting from their sophomore year, eventually leading to testing in six subject areas over a two week period just prior to graduation. The areas required are: History (specifically Modern European, although all students take AP U.S. History in their second year), a primary language (usually English), a secondary language (usually Spanish or French), Mathematics, a classic science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics), and an elected field chosen by each student according to their own interests (e.g. Psychology or Computer Science). Students select three of the fields they study as Higher Level subjects, those where they will receive two years of college instruction before testing, and additionally chose three fields as Standard Level subjects, for which they undertake one year of college level work. The IB program has students engage in AP testing for subjects where there is a comparable test, as high marks on AP exams in the sophomore and junior years bolster the strength of college applications, cause preemptive scouting by top schools, and have their own attendant awards. There are two other hallmarks of the program, Theory of Knowledge, a two semester course covering topics in Epistemology, as well as the Extended Essay, which is an original piece of work by students comparable to a semester term paper for an independent study course in college. In the summer following the junior year, those students who demonstrate a strong performance record in the program are invited to do research for their essay at St. Hughs College, The University of Oxford, under the tutelage of the tutorial system, as well as getting the chance to engage in a general course of British Studies. It recent years, the program has achieved, or fallen only a single tester or two short, of a perfect pass rate amongst those sitting for the Diploma examinations, with many scoring in the highest levels of the point schema (including perfect scores). Almost all students who receive the IB Diploma also receive the AP Scholar Award with varying degrees of additional attainment. The Academy likewise produces many National Merit Scholars, as well as numerous winners of major American math and science competitions. It admissions rate to top collegiate institutions is second in the State amongst public and private institutions only to The Kinkaid School, with almost all students earning a spot at one or more top 25 private institutions. As such, its alumni historically have chosen either to go onto to leading research Universities (Stanford and Rice being amongst the most popular), or to opt for specialty honors programs at the Universities of Texas (e.g. Plan II), Michigan, Virginia or California - Berkeley.
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