When a high school student wants to take an advanced psychology course for potential college credit, there are three major courses schools can offer: the College Board’s Advanced Placement Psychology, Cambridge International’s Advanced Subsidiary & Advanced Level Psychology, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme’s Psychology course.
This year, some school districts in Florida opted to offer the latter two in lieu of AP Psychology amid confusion about how to mesh the course with state law prohibiting K-12 instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation (a required topic in AP Psychology).
Florida education officials ultimately signed off on the College Board’s course in full. Here’s a look at how that course compares to its competitors.
How each course approaches psychology
On the purpose of a course and the skillsets students should gain from taking it, here’s where the three courses stand:
What content each course covers
Course content for each tends to be similar, but each offers a different instructional approach. Here’s an overview:
How each course exam works
All three courses offer students a chance at college credit through an end of year assessment, though the structure of each exam, and what each focuses on, varies:
