Comparing IB and AP

Similarities

• Both IB and AP offer college-level work to students in 11th and 12th grade
• Both IB and AP courses often lead to college credit or advanced placement
• Both IB and AP courses conclude with a final exam in May

Differences

• IB assesses a variety of student work throughout the year, including papers, portfolios, audio tapes, and exams (some of which count toward the final score)
• The IB curriculum emphasizes the development of skills, not just content mastery
• IB gives annual feedback to teachers
• The IB curriculum has an international focus
• By choosing their level of study, IB students work to their individual strengths
• IB is a two-year, interdisciplinary program that culminates in an IB Diploma

 “There was a quote by Jack Mezirow [an American sociologist and emeritus professor of adult and continuing education at Teachers College, Columbia University] who said that ‘learning is not about information, it’s about transformation.’ That’s what the IB Program was for me.”

Noorjahan Akbar

Global human rights activist &

2010 IB Diploma recipient from the George School