The effects of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs on student achievement

This study compared student academic achievement in two college readiness programs, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) and attempted to determine how well program participation predict student performance compared to variables such as SES, parent education level, GPA, gender, and SAT II scores. Finally, the research investigated AP and IB students' perceptions of program effectiveness. Data were collected from 97 AP and 102 IB high school students who were seniors during the 2009-2012 academic year. All of the participants took the SAT II in English literature and SAT IIC mathematics. A survey was used to gather information about senior students' perception of the two programs. Findings indicated that students in AP and IB did not differ substantially when it came to academic achievement and program participation was not determined to be a predictor of performance on the SAT. Students in the two programs reported positive perceptions of how participation prepared them for college success.