IB vs AP

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain to me why is IB is considered a better and more rigorous program and AP is not, why are most of the AP schools concentrated in the good/better schools and the IB programs are in the worse schools (there are a few exceptions). Also, why if you are on the west end of Fairfax you have no AP option high schools that are anywhere near. Shouldn't they intermix throughout the county IB and AP programs? I get that they don't seem to have the resources to do both programs at all schools.

And, I assume that just because you are stuck at an IB school you can sit and take the AP exam for AP credit like you used to, which I guess is the option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me why is IB is considered a better and more rigorous program and AP is not, why are most of the AP schools concentrated in the good/better schools and the IB programs are in the worse schools (there are a few exceptions). Also, why if you are on the west end of Fairfax you have no AP option high schools that are anywhere near. Shouldn't they intermix throughout the county IB and AP programs? I get that they don't seem to have the resources to do both programs at all schools.

And, I assume that just because you are stuck at an IB school you can sit and take the AP exam for AP credit like you used to, which I guess is the option.

oh boy. A bunch of people are going to pitch in and say that AP is more rigorous than IB. There is no right answer OP. I think the best program is dependent on the child. I have one who loves writing and humanities and might thrive in an IB school and another one who would probably be better suited for AP. Also, students dictate how rigorous AP/IB is during HS. Most kids in IB schools do not get the diploma. IB does prepare students for writing intensive college coursework. AP has more flexibility. Colleges are looking at how rigorous a student's coursework is throughout HS. So one is not better than the other in terms of college acceptance. I do think FCPS would be better off just having a few IB schools for students who really want that option.

[Anonymous]

I do not think anyone could say that AP is more rigorous than IB. AP is the "easier" course and that is recognize worldwide. What is surprising is that there are probably too many IB programs in the county for the small number of kids that could actually complete the program. Should be more like TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anecdotal data here. I did the full IB diploma a couple of decades ago. Only a few of my classmates received the full diploma; most took IB exams in only some of their courses but skipped one or more of the extended essay, service requirement, or Theory of Knowledge. I will say the writing requirements were far more rigorous than those I encountered at college. In fact, I was surprised by how easy I found a college 200-level Shakespeare class. On the other hand, I did not feel as if I was ahead in my college science and math classes, although I'd considered those my stronger areas when I was in high school.

[Anonymous]

IB hands out special snowflake awards to students completing an IB diploma; AP does not divide students taking AP courses into "AP diploma" students and everyone else.

So just about every thread on this topic consists of IB students/parents insisting their special snowflake awards were deserved, while the AP schools just chug along with the much larger cohorts of talented students getting into better schools with more college credits (although some top schools cut back on the credits awarded any IB or AP exam scores).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IB hands out special snowflake awards to students completing an IB diploma; AP does not divide students taking AP courses into "AP diploma" students and everyone else.

So just about every thread on this topic consists of IB students/parents insisting their special snowflake awards were deserved, while the AP schools just chug along with the much larger cohorts of talented students getting into better schools with more college credits (although some top schools cut back on the credits awarded any IB or AP exam scores).

OP word of caution—don’t listen to any parent who needs to diss a program to make an argument for the other—including this PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB hands out special snowflake awards to students completing an IB diploma; AP does not divide students taking AP courses into "AP diploma" students and everyone else.

So just about every thread on this topic consists of IB students/parents insisting their special snowflake awards were deserved, while the AP schools just chug along with the much larger cohorts of talented students getting into better schools with more college credits (although some top schools cut back on the credits awarded any IB or AP exam scores).

OP word of caution—don’t listen to any parent who needs to diss a program to make an argument for the other—including this PP.

+1 There's at least one person on the board who really hates IB for some reason. Both programs are rigorous. IB has more writing/research involved and the diploma requirements are fairly structured. AP is more "ala carte" and can more easily suit a given student's strengths and preferences.

[Anonymous]

There's at least one poster on this forum who always claims IB is more rigorous than AP.

Plenty of kids who took AP classes do equally well, if not better, in college. The AP curriculum was designed to prepare kids for advanced college-level courses, not give them a particular type of secondary school diploma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB hands out special snowflake awards to students completing an IB diploma; AP does not divide students taking AP courses into "AP diploma" students and everyone else.

So just about every thread on this topic consists of IB students/parents insisting their special snowflake awards were deserved, while the AP schools just chug along with the much larger cohorts of talented students getting into better schools with more college credits (although some top schools cut back on the credits awarded any IB or AP exam scores).

OP word of caution—don’t listen to any parent who needs to diss a program to make an argument for the other—including this PP.

a strong indicator of this is use of words like woke or snowflake

[Anonymous]

I teach both. In my subject, AP English Lit and AP English Lang are more rigorous than IB English Lang/Lit or IB English Lit. There is more content in the AP courses, and a high amount of fluff in the IB courses to allow them to stretch to two years.

SL IB Lang/Lit kids read only two literary texts (novels, plays, or short story collections) per year, for a total of four literary texts at the end of the diploma. The non-literary units are quite unstructured with very little oversight from the IB. HL kids in the same course read only six literary texts over two years.

Many of the students who have been successful in my IB courses would not have been able to pass AP Lit or AP Lang/Lit.

It always makes me sad when a kid who loves English opts fo the IB course, but my IB experience is what makes my CV strong, so...

I am sure that now parents with no teaching experience, or teachers with experience in only one of the courses will come to say I am wrong, but at this point I have been teaching both AP and IB for almost ten years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach both. In my subject, AP English Lit and AP English Lang are more rigorous than IB English Lang/Lit or IB English Lit. There is more content in the AP courses, and a high amount of fluff in the IB courses to allow them to stretch to two years.

SL IB Lang/Lit kids read only two literary texts (novels, plays, or short story collections) per year, for a total of four literary texts at the end of the diploma. The non-literary units are quite unstructured with very little oversight from the IB. HL kids in the same course read only six literary texts over two years.

Many of the students who have been successful in my IB courses would not have been able to pass AP Lit or AP Lang/Lit.

It always makes me sad when a kid who loves English opts fo the IB course, but my IB experience is what makes my CV strong, so...

I am sure that now parents with no teaching experience, or teachers with experience in only one of the courses will come to say I am wrong, but at this point I have been teaching both AP and IB for almost ten years.

Oh, and I forced my own child to do AP. Most of his friends chose IB because their parents were dazzled by the hyperbole and jargon.

The IB is a fine program, but not as rigorous as AP. I have no reason to favor one over the other because I teach both.

[Anonymous]

So schools that have IB programs do not have AP, is that correct? (FCPS)

Can you take the IB courses and sit for AP exams to get credit without the whole IB diploma?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HL kids in the same course read only six literary texts over two years.

My child is at an FCPS school and read 6 novels in their junior year of IB English Literature HL and has 7 assigned this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HL kids in the same course read only six literary texts over two years.

My child is at an FCPS school and read 6 novels in their junior year of IB English Literature HL and has 7 assigned this year.

+1. PP where do you teach IB? I thank you for your perspective but that has not been the experience at our IB school. Wouldn’t it be uniform everywhere since IB has certain requirements?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So schools that have IB programs do not have AP, is that correct? (FCPS)

Can you take the IB courses and sit for AP exams to get credit without the whole IB diploma?

Yes. You can sign up for an AP exam without taking the AP course. Link to the FAQ on the AP/College Board website.

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/ap-exams-overview#apricot_V6x_eUVvTy


Can I take the AP Exam if I haven’t taken an AP course?

Yes. We recommend taking the AP course before taking an AP Exam—but it’s not required. We want to be sure homeschooled students and students in schools that don’t offer AP can take AP Exams.