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EARLENE WARD - SPECIAL TO SIERRA STAR
Five
Yosemite High School graduates in the class of 2003 were awarded International
Baccalaureate diplomas. The diplomas are awarded to those students who
pass tests in six subjects, write an extended essay of 4,000 words which
is an independent research paper, pass a Theory of Knowledge course and
complete the compulsory component of CAS (creative, action, service).
Those who earned the IB diploma are Amy Johnson, Elizabeth Luca, Jonathan
Oulton, Ed Sichel and Elizabeth Tucker.
Larry Pesetski, IB coordinator for YHS, says “It is a testimony to our
students and instructors that our results are so good.” He notes that
over the past seven years, YHS IB diploma candidates have had an 82-85
percent success rate, which is higher than the world average.
Mr. Pesetski says the IB program “shows that our students are able to
compete academically with students all over the world. This is the beauty
of the program; it measures our students against the best and brightest
from throughout the world.”
To earn a diploma, students must have a total score of at least 24 on
the six tests. One YHS graduate, Jonathan Oulton, scored 31. Mr. Pesetski
says that is a “major accomplishment” as he was “competing with the elite
of the world.”
Students must test in their first language, a second language, social
science, experimental sciences, mathematics and arts and electives.
This year there are eight seniors enrolled in the full IB diploma program.
This year’s junior class has 32 students who have indicated they want
to be full diploma candidates. That number is “unheard of,” Mr. Pesetski
says.
He says if 32 members of the Class of 2005 test for the IB diploma, it
will most likely put YHS on the list of best high schools in the country.
Jay Matthews, author of Class Struggle: What’s Right and Wrong With America’s
Public High Schools, compiles a list of the nation's top schools based
on the ratio of total students to the number IB or Advanced Placement
tests students take.
This year, over 400 students are enrolled in IB or pre-IB classes at YHS.
“There is a direct correlation between the IB program and our students
being accepted to prestigious universities,” Mr. Pesetski says.
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