What is IB and what are IB classes? IB stands for International Baccalaureate and IB classes are offered by the International Baccalaureate Organization. It is a non-profit educational foundation that attempts to offer high-level international education that encourages and develops the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills that are required for a successful life in today's society. It is basically an international equivalent to the AP program that is popular within the United States.
When I was in high school, my district offered Advance Placement Classes and International Baccalaureate classes. I had the opportunity and privilege to take both throughout my high school career. Although they are both advanced college-level courses, they are drastically different in so many ways.
AP courses are considered more intensive in the learning process and tend to focus more on one subject. IB courses, on the other hand, approach the learning matter from a more holistic standpoint.
AP courses require students to take a final exam at the end of the school year and that exam will decide their grade and whether or not they receive college credit. IB classes are structured very differently and most of them require papers and oral presentations, along with written exams. These can be internally or externally assessed; I know my IB English teacher was the proctor for several parts.
In my opinion, having taken both, IB courses are a much better option for students who are going to be pursuing college degrees. The classes, and class structures as a whole, are much more similar to college courses than AP classes are. Of course, it does depend on what type of college you attend, but when I got to college I found that engaging in intellectual discussions was valued over test taking.
The IB program does have students take written exams, but unlike AP, the exams very rarely have multiple choice questions. The exams are usually essays in which students have the opportunity to make arguments and support them using the knowledge and skills developed throughout the IB course. The IB exams also give students a very fair amount of time to complete them; I was not rushed during my exams, but I was never just sitting doing nothing either.
The AP program is much more rigid when giving their exams and they usually entail a great deal of multiple choice, along with several essays. These essays are usually rather specific and students must complete them in a very short amount of time. I know that whenever I took AP exams, I felt extremely pressured for time and most likely did not write to the best of my ability. The time constraints that AP places on students only hinders their ability to think and produce more logical, clear statements.
When it comes to impressing colleges with college-level courses on your resumes and applications, both AP and IB are equally good to have. However, a lot of colleges are much more selective with giving credits to IB over AP, even though IB is definitely not easier.
When given the option of taking IB course or AP courses, I would highly recommend taking the IB ones. The popularity of the International Baccalaureate program is growing and it is becoming much more well known within the United States. I think that more and more high schools will begin to recognize the advantage of offering more IB courses rather than AP courses.
