In order to get an academic honors diploma from my high school one of the requirements is to have four IB credits with corresponding exams but which category of subjects does IB fall under? Does IB mean its harder than AP classes?
IB and AP are seen as equivalents, but an individual student may not find them equal in difficulty. You should really browse through these threads or even Google before asking such a broad question.
Hello ATuesday25,
First, does your school offer IB? Second to define IB… “The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program(IBDP) is a two-year program educational programme primarily aimed at students aged 16-19. The program is one that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into the higher education.” For more information, click on this link: http://www.ibo.org/en/programmes/diploma-programme/
For the full IB Diploma Programme, it is composed of six subject groups and DP Core, composing theory of knowledge(TOK), creativity, action, service (CAS) and the extended essay. The six subjects groups include:
-Group 1:Studies in Language and Literature
-Group 2:Language Acquisition
-Group 3:Individuals and Societies
-Group 4:Sciences
-Group 5:Mathematics
-Group 6:The Arts
You have to take 3 classes SL and 3 classes HL. SL stands for Standard level and HL stands for Higher Level. They aren’t different in quality of teaching, but only quantity of teaching. For example, SL courses require 150 hours of instructional time, meanwhile HL requires 240 hours of instructional time. In addition to those six IB classes, you must take a class called Theory of Knowledge which is the Interdisciplinary course in IBDP. In addition you must take IB Exams, which occur May in your Senior year. You won’t get results back until July 16, I believe, and if or if not you got the IB Diploma. Here is more information: http://www.ibo.org/en/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/ .
You don’t have to do the whole IB Diploma Program, instead you could do the partial IB Program, called IB Certificate Program, where you take 2-4 classes IB Classes and Approaches to learning, alongside your Career Pathway.
IB and AP are both regarded and considered by Universities. IB is definitely harder than AP. For example consider a Pyramid of “Academic rigor”, the bottom part of Pyramid is Honors, followed by AP, and the top is IB. If you want to earn college credit, then AP might be right for you. However if seeking a challenge and want to know how college works, then suggest IB, since IB classes are college-level classes like AP, but harder.
Good luck on getting the academic honors diploma, if you have any questions just ask. Hope this helps!