<p>
</p>
<p>IB probably ends up doing a similar thing as AP – providing an externally set target benchmark for high schools that are not motivated enough to design their own high rigor and advanced courses, or which face too much downward pressure on course and curriculum strength in the absence of such an externally set target benchmark.</p>
<p>From what I have read on these forums, IB courses seem to be a very large amount of work, even though colleges do not seem to think that they are (overall) much (or any) more advanced than AP courses (based on subject credit and placement they give for AP and IB test scores).</p>