S.T.E.M. Academy - AP vs IB

\ A /VVhat is the AdvancedPlacement Program'?The Adwanced Placement Program@(AP@) is a challenging academicprogram designed to provide motiwatedhigh school students with collegeJevelacademic courses. Established in 1955by the College Board, the AP Programis a cooperatiwe educational endeavorbetween secondary schools andcolleges and uniwersities, High schoolstudents who complete AP coursesdemonstrate their mastery of subjectmaterial by earning quali$'ing gradeson AP Examinations.

AP is considered a standard foracademic excellence in the UnitedStates, where nearly 60 percent ofsecondary schools participate in theprogram. AP courses with qualifyingexam grades are accepted for credit,advanced placemenl or both, by mostAmerican colleges and universities. Inaddition, AP courses and exam gradesare used h the admissions process inmore than 400 universities outside theUnited States.

Wf,rt is the InternationalBaccalaureate@?The International Baccalaureate@Diploma Program (lB@) is a rigorouspreuniversiSr program leading toassessments in six subject areas,Established in 1968, the IB offers achallenging curriculum noted for itsdepth and its international perspective.The two-year IB Diploma provides acoherent and demanding educational

experience across the full curriculum.Beyond completing college-level coursesand examinations, IB students are alsorequired to engage in communiqzservice, individual research, and aninquiry into the nature of knowledge.The IB Diploma is accepted as anadmissions credential at uniwersities in102 countries. In addition, high scoreson IB exams often entitle students tocredit or placement at universit;r. IBcourses and exams are offered at 1,217schools in 113 countries.

Wf-rut is the APoInternational Diploma?The AP International Diploma (APID)was designed to accommodateAmerican and intemational students atsecondarSr schools in the U.S, andabroad who are app$ng to universitiesoutside the United States. To quali$' forthe APID, students must earn APgrades of 5 or higher on four AP Examsin three of the five sub.iect areas listedbelow. Students must take fi,vo exarns intwo different languages (Area I), eithera Science or Mathematics exam (AreasII and III), and one or more exams&om a subject area not already selected,

Area I: LanguagesArea II: SciencesArea III: MathematicsArea fV: History and Social SciencesAreaV Electives

Students do not formally apply for theAP International Diploma. It isautomatically awarded to any APstudent who resides outside the U.S.and who successfuJ$r meets the diploma

criteria- U.S. residents who meet theAPID criteria and request that their APExamination results be sent to auniwersiqr overseas will also be awardedan APID certificate. The APID is in theprocess of being revised.

Wf",rt is the lB"'Diploma?The International BaccalaureateDiploma, based upon best practicesIiom narional systems of educationaround the world, was desig'ned toprovide srudents from all countries aneducation credential that could beunderstood by uniwersities in a.rycountry. IB assessment is varied,authentic, and takes place over the entirecourse of IB instruction. It culminates ina series of examinations, which wereoffered in I52 different subjects in 2001.These subjects are drawn from thelollowing sir subject groups.

Language AlLanguage B, Language A2,

Ab InitioIndividuals and Societie"Experimental SciencesMathematicsArts

Full IB Diploma students rnust studyone course from each of the first fiwegroups, plus either an Arts course oran elective from Groups 1-5. Inaddition, all diploma candidates rnustfulfill three central requirements:

1. Theory of Knowledge, anexternally assessed course thatcontrasts ways of knowing in allsix subject areas;

2. Exended Essay, an externallyassessed, independent researchproject of 4,000 words in one ofthe six subject areas;

3. Creativity, Action, Serviee (CAS),active involvement in a minimumof 150 hours of communigz service,artistic, and physical acdvities.

IB assessments are scored on a I-7scale, with up to three additionalpoints available for exemplary workon Theory of Knowledge and theExtended Essay. To earn an IBDiploma, a srudent must achieve amin imum tota l score of 24 pointswithout any failing conditions.

Who creates the APExaminations, and howare the exams oracleci?AP Examinations are created by acommittee of experienced APsecondary school teachers anduniversity professors specializing heach of the disciplines for which anexamination is offered. The multiple-choice portion of AP Exams is scoredby computer. The free-responsesections of AP Exams are scored byAP teachers and universiSz professorsin a weeklong June scoring session.Detailed scoring rubrics areestablished for each examination byChief Faculry C,onsultants for eachdiscipline, who oversee the scoring ofthe free-response questions. Great careis tatrren by the Chief FaculqrConsultants to ensure accuracy andconsistency in scorhg to result in a fairassessment of student free-re"oon".

performances. Total composite scoresfor the combined multiple-choice andfree-response portions of the exams areconwerted into AP grades of I (norecomrnendation) to 5 (extrem.ly wellqualified), which are released in mid-July to the students and the collegesand universities of their choice.

Who createsthe InternationalBaccalaureateexaminations. and howare the exams graded?Generally speaLing, the final IB gradeof 1-Z consists of trvo major elements.Between 20 and 50 percent of the gradeis based on internal assessment,classroom work done during the IBcourse and graded by IB teachersagainst specfic published criteria. Theremaining 50-80 percent of the grade isbased on external assessmenk, whichare developed by an international boardof chief examiners, with input from IBteachers from around the world.

These criterion-based assessments aregraded by an international body of5,500 trained IB examiners, consistingof universiSz professors and mastersecondary school teachers. The worLof the examiners is moderated bv anexamining board that is alsoresponsible for ensuring that scoring isconsistent across subjects and acrossthe world. A final award meetine takesplace in each subject at IB'sCurriculum and Assessment centre inWales, and results are issued each vearin earlv Julv,

Ho* clo colleges anduniversities recognize APcourses and the API nternational Diploma?Approximately 5,000 North Arnericanuniversities recognize AP courses aldexaminations. Students presentingquali$'ing grades on AP Exams mayearn anywhere fiom 5 to 6 credits (for asingle course) to one year of collegecredit, and on occasion, two years ofcredit, thereby earning second-year andsometirnes third-year standing. Asuniversities in the United States andabroad differ regarding the exact natureof their acceptance policies, AP studentsare adwised to inquire directl;z at theuniversities concerning their respectivepolicies for specific AP Examinations.AP courses and quali$ring grades arealso used as acceptance and admissionscriteria by an increasing number ofuniversities in identi$'ing high-performing and higlily motivatedstudents, By taking AP courses, studentsdemonstrate their mastery of a subjectand their abiliSr to work at the academiclevel required in higher education.Students who have earned the APInternationa.l Diploma fulf illuniwersity qualification requirementsfor numerous selecdve universities inAustralia, Austria, Canada, Ecuador,France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, theNetherlands, SlovaLia, Sweden,Switzerland, TurLey, and the UnitedKinedom.

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IB has largely succeeded in its goal tobe a universally recognized admissionscredential. Specific agreements are inplace with ministries of education anduniversities in 102 countries thatrecognize the IB Diploma as a validmeans of earning entry topostsecondary study.

The IB Diploma is increasingly beingviewed as a strong indicator ofacademic promise and achievement. IBstudents often have an advantage in theadmissions process at selectiveuniversities. In addition, IB courses andexams are recognized for the purposeof advanced credit and,/or placement atover 900 North American colleges anduniversities. In fact, over 150 post-secondary institutions now grant a fullyear of credit to students who haveearned the IB Diploma.

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\A/nrt simitarities exrstbetween the AP ancl lBprograms?l. Both are rigorous programs devoted

to educational excellence; eachprogram sets high performance 7.standards for studenLs a"d faculqr.

2. Both programs involve dedicatedand creative teachers committedto their students, their disciplines,and their profession.

7 Both programs attract highlymotivated students who wish toexcel academicall;z and attend themost selective colleges andunive rsitie s.

Both programs prowide forarticulation with middle-schoolcurricula, IB through its MiddleYears and Primary YearsProgrammes, and AP through itsPre-AP@ program and its K-12initiatiwe.

Both programs have attracted theattention of internationaleducators, educational policy-makers, and the general public asways to improve the qualiqr ofeducation around the world.

Both programs value studentsdoing independent research,thinking, and writing. IB studentsare expected to produce a 4,000-word Extended Essay as a formalrequirement of the IB Diploma.AP teachers and IB teachersfpically require students in APand IB courses to write extendedresearch essays, papers, andreports that involve the use ofboth primary and secondarysources, and that also requireindependent thi-nking, analysis,and interpretation.

In support of the academicprograms, both AP and IB offerextensive professionaldevelopment opportunities forteachers and administratorsworldwide.

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Why cio AP?Extensive FecogrrrtionAP is recognized by approximately3,000 American colleges anduniwersities, which grant credit,advanced placement, or both for APcourses and exam grades. More than400 additional universities in 22countries also recognize AP coursesand exam grades in the admissionsprocess. Colleges and universitiesrecognize the value of AP for preparingstudents to succeed in rigorousuniversity courses.

Affordability anci FiexibiiityAP is affordable, the only fee being the$82 per examination, $22 of whichmay be waived in cases of economicneed. AP offers flexibility for schools,which can olfer one or many APcourses, and dilferent AP courses fromyear to year. AP also offers flexibilityfor teachers, who have latitude todetermine their own curicula,

Access and EquityAP promotes open access to studentswho may excel in only one or twoacademic disciplines. The AP Programis designed to give all students anopporhrnity to challenge themselveswith a rigorous academic experience.

Exam Feliability andUniversity StanclardsAP emphasizes statistical examreliabili5r to ensure fairness in scoring,along with results that can be trusted bystudents, schools, and universities.Through regular surveys andcomparability studies, the AP Programensures that courses and examinationsreflect actual universiqrJevel standards.

Why Do lB?A High Level of RecognitionUniversities in 102 countries welcomeIB diplomas as well as indiwidualcourses for admissions, placernent, andcredit purposes. Individual IB coursesare recognized as signi$ring a studentirigorous preparation in an academicdiscipline; ;fis l! diFloma signifies suchpreparation in all six academic disciplines,service to communiqr, and developmentof an international perspective.E ^ i / ^ ^ , - ] D ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ n n - - ^ ^ ^ f f i ^ ^ +

Using International StandarclsIB assessment is of many f,pes, occursseveral times over the usual two-yearduration of IB courses, and includes theclassroom teacher as a partner. IBstudents'work is assessed by severalexaminers whose assessments arecarefully moderated by arr intemationalexamining board. IB teachers receivedetailed formal feedback on every aspectof their students' IB assessment each year.

A Remarkable Degree of FlexbrlifyIB curricula and examinations areavailable in IBO's three o{Hcial laaguagesof English, Spanish, and French. The IBDiploma offers schools a wide variet;r ofcourses, teachers a wide choice of topics,and students a wide variegz ofassessments and areas of speciali"ation.

Commitment toAuthorizecl SchoolsSchools must undergo an exhaustiveapplication process for authorization tooffer our courses. Once authorized,schools are required to participate in IBprofessional development on a regularbasis and to be rewiewed every five yearsby the appropriate regional IBO office.