Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate are college preparation programs. They offer curricula focused on the essential skills of each discipline and force students to use their critical thinking to succeed in the classroom. For example, an AP or IB English course instructor should not substitute a movie for a book when the book is challenging. Instead, students should read journals to improve their comprehension, conduct literary research and write analyses.
The AP and IB programs culminate in exams. Those who pass their AP exams receive college credit for individual courses. Students who complete all of their IB courses and pass their exams receive an IB diploma. Some universities recognize this diploma as the equivalent of freshman level college work. AP and IB classes are rigorous because of the depth of study, the level of skill and the authenticity of the content.
The Running Start program gives high school students the chance to spend part of their day taking courses on a college campus (at no cost) and earning college credit. The benefit of this rigorous schedule is that students become accustomed to working with college-level coursework in a college setting.
Early college high schools embed college-level work into their high school curriculum. Many of these schools focus on rigorous academic achievement for underserved populations (i.e., kids who might not see themselves as higher education prospects). Tuition policies for early college high schools vary, but students may be eligible for free transportation, laptops and individual counseling.
Bloom’s Taxonomy has long served as the teacher’s measure of the levels of cognitive operation, from basic knowledge to higher order skills. Even schools that do not offer college courses can create rigorous programs by implementing curricula that meet the objectives outlined in Bloom’s taxonomy. The goals of the learning process include knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.