Discover the Difference Between AP and IB Classes.
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses offer unique benefits to students, but have different educational goals.
Advanced Placement courses have long been considered the go-to option for U.S. high schoolers who desire more challenging work than what's offered in the standard curriculum. But students may have more options for getting an
academic challenge. An increasing number of American high schools offer
the International Baccalaureate program which, like the AP program,
offers a rigorous set of courses.
The IB program is still relatively small compared with the AP program in the U.S.: only about 830 schools offer the IB diploma, according to the program's organizers. Nearly 14,000 public high schools offered AP courses during the 2012-2013 school year, according to the College Board, which administers the AP program.
"We see strengths in both programs," says Darren Bessett, honors program director at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado. His school offers IB and AP classes. But both programs have their own distinct features.
• The educational objectives differ: AP courses tend to focus intensively on a particular subject, while IB courses take a more holistic approach.
"In an AP class, you may look very deeply at an issue
and look at if from multiple perspectives," says Matthew Nelson,
director of advanced academics for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee.
"In IB, it would probably be more, still looking at an
issue, but you may be looking at an issue over time and how it has
impacted other parts of the world and how there is that connectivity to
it all," he says.
Bessett's school in Colorado actually offers some classes
that use the IB and AP curriculums together, which allows students to
benefit from the strengths of both programs, he says.
• IB students can earn an IB diploma: High
schoolers who have embraced IB's global educational philosophy can elect
to earn an IB diploma, which is recognized by colleges around the
world.
IB is primarily an international program – there are nearly 4,000 IB schools in close to 150 countries, according to the program's website.
Students take a standard set of courses and
corresponding assessments in the rigorous two-year program, which they
complete during their junior and senior year. There are other
requirements, too, such as community service and a research paper, says
Bessett.
"What's nice about IB and the diploma
particularly, is you're saying, 'Hey, I'm willing to challenge myself in
areas of strength, but I'm also willing to challenge myself in areas
where I'm not as strong as well,'" he says.
But if students do not want to commit to the diploma
program, they can pick and choose which IB courses they'd like to take,
just like with AP classes, he says.
• Students can earn college credit with either: Both IB and AP classes culminate in an exam, and depending on the score, students may be able to earn college credit.
However, a student must be enrolled in an IB class to
take an IB exam, Bessett says. This differs from the AP program, as
students can take an AP exam without taking its corresponding AP course.
"If you are successful on the assessment, then it is
invaluable in terms of how much money you save on college credit," says
Nelson.
Both educators agree that they think college admissions officers look favorably on students who take either AP or IB classes.
"It's always, where are you at as a student? What's
your goal? What is your strength? What can we try to achieve by you
taking this particular class?" says Bessett, in terms of deciding on AP
or IB classes.
Bessett says that he doesn't advise students to take one
course over the other – the students' choice depends on their academic
goals. In some cases, a student may take an AP English class instead of
the IB English class because of the type of literature the class is
reading, he says.
Most students he advises take a combination of both, he says.
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