CBSE vs AP vs IB - Page 4

poisonivy39 · 07-20-2012, 05:24 AM

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AP courses are not on par with CBSE courses, at least for maths and the sciences.

That's almost a stereotype, but it's not true.

poisonivy39 · 07-20-2012, 05:27 AM

Quote:

CBSE Physics ~ AP Physics B + C > IB Physics
(I say this because while CBSE covers a little bit of quantum physics that isn't covered on the APs, the APs cover thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, which are not covered on CBSE Physics. However, the E&M and Mechanics content of Physics C and CBSE Physics are practically the same.)

Edit: I recently found out that Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics are a part of CBSE Physics!

parmarpraveen · 12-18-2012, 07:44 AM

Hi,

I need your help for taking a crucial decision for my son's education.I have been living in Stockholm for last two years without my family.My son is studying in India in 8th Std/Grade under CBSE board.He is a bright student and been 'IKEN Student Icon of India', won NASA trip as a grand prize last year.

But it may be possible for him to continue his schooling in Stockholm under IB curriculum from Aug 2013 year in 9th grade (MYP4).I have plan that he will study only for one year(MYP4) in Stockholm and again I will send him back to India.Then he will continue in 10th standard under CBSE.

If possible for you please respond to parmar.praveen@**********

Best Regards,
Praveen Parmar

rishav17 · 12-20-2012, 12:13 PM

Now I've studied in a ICSE/ISC school for 12 years and have seen my friends' curriculum in both CBSE & IB schools... and this is what I realized :-

ISC:-- The sciences (Phy, Chem, Bio) go deep into every topic and help better understanding of the topics, but in the long run it is really useless as all it helps for is the ISC examinations!! Level of English is very very high though..... and sometimes the cause of low grades!! Math covers a lot of topics(integral/differential calculus, 3D Geometry,etc.) but is probably the easiest of subjects in terms of difficulty of sums.

CBSE:- Math is very tough! Physics and Chemistry brush up on quite a few topics but then again the studies are all formulae/numerical based!! English... I'd rather not speak about it!! But CBSE really helps one to get into the groove to attempt Indian Competitive Examinations.

IB :- Aren't there different levels for each subject?? The top level is still below CBSE/ISC level but has the right amount of knowledge that a high school student needs! The most balanced curriculum and the level of English is quite high too....

So now for the verdict :-
ISC:- Toughest, Helps in better understanding, but not practical, helps in only ISC exam.
CBSE: - Quite Tough, Higher level of maths, helps in competitive exams too (though UK universities and certain other countries still doubt the credentials of CBSE and have slightly higher requirements)
IB:- Balanced curriculum -- most practical, Best if you want to go abroad, worst if you want to stay in India.

Either way, experienced admissions officers in most colleges know that ISC/CBSE are quite rigorous .... so it shouldn't really matter whether or not you take IBs!!

I may be totally wrong!... But this is the way I see it!

mapletree7 · 12-21-2012, 02:08 AM

@person above me

If I recall correctly, CBSE math is Calc I + 60% of Calc II (and very little statistics), which is a LOT easier than IB HL math.

The difficulty level of the English in IB is much higher than any Indian board I know of.

(I'm not too familiar with the Indian education system beyond the math content).

rishav17 · 12-21-2012, 02:36 AM

If you take a look at ISC english - it is at par with (if not tougher) than IB English!!
But one could always argue that the testing technique differs and so you never know.

And as I said, don't know much abt the levels but from what I've seen I feel CBSE Math>ISC Math>~IB Math.

mapletree7 · 12-22-2012, 12:46 AM

Why don't you look at the math curriculums to be sure? I feel that IB HL math is by far the most comprehensive, and Further Math is more comprehensive still.

And, no, I don't feel that ISC english is on par with IB English. I looked at a link here:
http://www.cisce.org/ISC%202012%20Sp...0Paper%202.pdf

It's mostly just explaining the lines of the plays. There's little to no analysis required, except for Section B.

Now contrast that with an IB English paper - analysis is universally required and is much more profound than in ISC's Section B.

rishav17 · 12-22-2012, 11:58 PM

ISC's questioning style is pretty different from all other curriculum in both science & English.
In science we are asked for derivations, theoretical/mathematical proofs which I doubt are asked in other curricula.
Also
http://education.cambridge.org/media...20syllabus.pdf
http://www.cisce.org/ISC%20Syllabus%...athematics.pdf

From what I see... IB Math is easier because one it has lesser number of chapters and lesser number of sub-chapters. Take a look at the integral calculus syllabus in ISC!
Also the chapter 10 on sets is done in Std.10 for ICSE. The only thing different in IB is the chapter on discrete mathematics!! So, I stick to my point - IB Math is easier. But then again it all depends on level of questioning difficulty.

In case of English, the first two questions (10m each) are aimed to make sure that the student comprehends Shakespearean English, which at times can be quite confusing. After that we have the long answer/essay type questions which require a lot of analyzing without which you are not going to score high! So again, ISC English is quite tough.

jackrabbit420 · 12-24-2012, 04:43 AM

why is this comparison even being made?

Anyone who has attended both CBCSE and IB knows that IB is a hell of a lot tougher than CBCSE. Memorizing formulas wont get you through Further Maths like it would in CBCSE Maths.

Some might even say that Further maths is equally tough as the JEE its just that both go towards different directions and thus being good at one wont necessarily mean youll be good at the other.

And dont even get me started on the internals.

jackrabbit420 · 12-24-2012, 04:49 AM

@rishav17 Those are just changes to the syllabus not the actual syllabus.

The actual syllabus is quite wide and extensive.

Besides since when is the number of chapters a deciding factor in the difficulty of a subject?

IB may just call it Calculus; CBCSE may call it Differentiation, Integration, and Differential Equations. Does that make CBCSE tougher?

allansmith · 12-25-2012, 01:48 AM

Hello, Tizil7

This is a very interesting topic. I have not taken CBSE courses/exams so I am not familiar with the level of difficulty CBSE provides. However, I took IB courses in high school. I took 2 AP Exams (although I did not take AP courses in high school). I received a "5" in AP Calculus BC, and "5" in AP Physics C ....But Since I do not have much credibility with AP or CBSE, I will talk mainly about IB.

Depending on the courses one takes, IB can be a dreadful experience. I took 6 IB classes at my high school -Further Maths SL, History SL, English SL, Physics HL, Latin HL, Music HL. All of the courses were challenging. But...out of all of them, I have to say, "Further Maths SL" was the most difficult. Ultimately, I excelled in these courses, receiving what is called the "IB Diploma" (41/45).

As I mentioned earlier, I received great scores on my AP exams. My IB Physics and Further Maths helped me on those two AP exams. But that is not to say anything negative about AP. AP is a great program that has its strengths. One thing that AP students have that IB students don't is OPTIONS. Since AP courses are generally over a 1 year period, students get to taste a variety of college-level courses over the span of two years. However, you can make a case that IB students learn their subject more in-depth because IB courses are over a two-year period.

I can go on and on...but we have to face the fact that both programs have their pros and cons. *Obviously this post is a bit bias because as I said, I only took IB courses

ram0276 · 12-25-2012, 01:57 AM

I agree with PoisonIvy as well. I'm not too sure about IB since I only spent a year in the program but AP is a joke. Alot of AP depends simply upon student aptitude and teacher quality. I have taken 3 AP exams (2 self-studied, 1 winged) and got 5's. the teachers in my school make the AP Courses very easy as well (1-2 exceptions).

ram0276 · 12-25-2012, 01:58 AM

But I do agree, this CBSE bs is far less rigorous than the IB program. I dont know why so many of you are attempting the world otherwise.

rishav17 · 12-30-2012, 07:16 AM

Well, let me give a personal example. I used to study in a reputable school in India ( 90% of each class used to get 80% above in ICSE). Now my school had CBSE, ICSE/ISC & IB branches. Whenever a student used to perform badly in his studies in ICSE/ISC, in the internal exams - the student used to be asked to transfer to the other branches as CBSE/IB have a "student friendly" curriculum. And this used to work as the student ( many of my friends ) used to perform better!!

Now I don't know why this is so, but it just seems that ISC/ICSE is tougher than CBSE & IB. That said, I really feel ISC is useless!!

mapletree7 · 12-31-2012, 06:15 AM

@rishav 17

You're probably right about the relative difficulty of the curricula; I've never attended school in India. However, you shouldn't equate the difficulty of one curriculum with the number of topics listed in the course description. For instance, the integral calculus content on ISC (or ICSE or whatever) only looks lengthy because it explicitly lists all the integrals you need to be able to evaluate. IB integral calculus is exactly the same - and I maintain that IB math is more comprehensive than ISC's.