My wife went to a true IB boarding school in Europe. At the time it was free for everyone. From the way she has described it, the level and layering of knowledge was far more in depth than in AP courses. The problem is that when IB is done well, it is better. But there just aren’t enough good teachers. Problem two is idiot educators and social reformers like Jay Matthews, who think you can put mediocre students in an IB class and make them brilliant. All you do is ruin the class.