AP vs. IB

Advanced Placement, otherwise known as AP, is an academic program used in senior high schools throughout the United States and Canada founded in 1955. AP strives to prepare students for college- and university-level courses by giving the same basic material and curriculum with an extended period to complete it. The courses are completed with a standardized final exam every month of May, and scores of these exams are scaled 1 through 5--5 as the highest score. Colleges and universities often award credit hours for higher exam scores, usually fours and fives. Credit awards vary by institution, and some do not award credit at all.

Here is a list of AP subject courses with exams this academic year:

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• Art History
• Biology
• Calculus AB
• Calculus BC
• Chemistry
• Chinese Language and Culture
• Computer Science A
• English Language and Composition
• English Literature and Composition
• Environmental Science
• European History
• French Language
• German Language
• Government and Politics: Comparative
• Government and Politics: United States
• Human Geography
• Italian Language and Culture
• Japanese Language and Culture
• Latin: Vergil
• Macroeconomics
• Microeconomics
• Music Theory
• Physics 1
• Physics 2
• Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
• Physics C: Mechanics
• Psychology
• Research (Part of a special program called Capstone)
• Seminar (Part of a special program called Capstone)
• Statistics
• Spanish Language
• Spanish Literature
• Studio Art: 2-D Design
• Studio Art: 3-D Design
• Studio Art: Drawing
• United States History
• World History

International Baccalaureate, or IB, is a worldwide academic program that aims to create internationally-minded students following core principles of a well-educated, well-rounded, knowledgeable, and principled person. The central IB organization was founded in 1968 in Switzerland. The entire organization has four divisions of curriculum based on age and school level, for ages 3 to 19.

Here is a list of courses available through IB:

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Given that IB has so many, here's a picture that outlines most of them:

To conclude the introduction to this debate, below are the outlines of key similarities and differences between the two programs.

Similarities

• Both are accepted by colleges and universities as credit, allowing students to save money if they do well on a subject exam.
• Both are generally focused on senior high school students.
• They are usually regarded as "college in high school".
• Payment is necessary to take final course exams barring exceptions.
• Neither specialize in a single subject matter, and offer a wide range of subject options.
• Both present a GPA (Grade Point Average) bump in most states, generally to the same degree.

Differences

• IB courses are two academic years long, as opposed to AP courses which are a single year.
• AP is strictly in North America with few exceptions, and IB courses can be taken worldwide, in over 140 countries.
• The core of IB presents secondary requirements to earn an overall certificate called the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Included in this is 50 hours of athletic activity, 50 hours of creative activity, 50 hours of community service, an essay regarding a subject called Theory of Knowledge, and an essay called the Extended Essay that is 3,500 to 4,000 words long.
• AP exams do not require a student to take the respective course whereas IB subject exams do.
• AP exams can be taken by choice, as many at one time as you can handle, and multiple times to improve your final score. At most, 7 IB exams can be taken, and can only be taken once.
• IB exams are graded 1 through 7, as opposed to to the 1 through 5 scale of AP.
• 7's on IB exams are harder to obtain than 5's on AP exams since IBO (the central IB organization) grades them based on multiple gradings and compared to other testees. AP grades exams based on point percentage.
• As IB is newer and not based in the United States, fewer colleges and universities accept exam scores from IB as credit in the U.S.

Overall question to debate: Which is better for students--AP or IB?
Without further adieu, debate away!