I have overheard sales people at these booths using potentially misleading phrases such as “equivalent to a high school diploma” (hint: if it’s equivalent to something, it’s not actually that thing). But perhaps the most confusing word for parents out in the alternative high school diploma industry is accredited.

YOU MAY NOT NEED ACCREDITATION, BUT WHEN YOU NEED IT, YOU REALLY NEED IT
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe everyone needs an accredited program to get them through their high school years. I don’t believe that an accredited program is, based on that fact alone, automatically superior to one that is not accredited. If I were homeschooling high school aged children right now, I personally wouldn’t choose to use an accredited program unless I was educating under constraints that made its use necessary. (Stay tuned for a later post on that!)  Remember that you might not even need a high school diploma at all, even if you want to go to university.

But, if you’re asking whether or not a program is accredited, that probably means you have come to the conclusion that your child needs or wants the benefits of accreditation. And if so, then you need to ask, “Accredited by whom?” or you may as well not ask at all.

HANG OUT A SHINGLE, AND YOU’RE A CERTIFICATION BOARD
I’m bringing up this topic again because of an article I read this morning in the Boston Herald regarding U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul’s claim to be a board certified doctor. It turns out that Paul is indeed certified . . . by a medical organization that he himself founded and currently heads. The Boston Herald article explains:

Paul, a Republican from Bowling Green and an opthamologist, says he’s certified by the National Board of Opthamology. But, Lori Boukas, a spokeswoman for the American Board of Medical Specialties, said the organization considers certifications valid only if they are done by the two dozen groups that have its approval and that of the AMA. The American Board of Opthamology said Paul hasn’t been certified since Dec. 31, 2005.

From what I gather from this article, the American Medical Association considers certifications issued by the American Board of Opthamology to be valid, but not those issued by the National Board of Opthamology, the latter being an organization that Paul created himself because he took issue with the certification practices of the former.

I’m not implying that there’s necessarily anything shady about forming your own accrediting body, but you can see how it creates confusion. If you were a budding opthamologist, then you would really need to know that the American and National Boards are two different entities, viewed differently by the American Medical Association and probably, therefore, by future employers. While both boards can offer you certification, those certifications are not equally accepted in the medical profession. Presumably there’s a professional organization to advise doctors and medical students. But surely the average patient would be clueless about these certification issues. (“Oh, you are certified by the National Board of Opthamology?  Sorry, my insurance only covers visits to an American Board of Opthamology certified doctor.”)

QUESTIONING (PRESUMED) AUTHORITIES
We see shades of this outside the world of certification. “Super Objective Scientific Plastics Research Organization” (whose website you may visit while researching toxins in plastics) is nothing more than “Petroleum Giant Inc.”‘s PR department with carefully selected pro-plastic information. The “Stop Bill C-crackdown-on-natural-medicine” website is funded by “The Acai Berry Scammers of Canada” … who may in turn be simply a crafty department of “Big Pharma Monopoly Inc.” who have the resources to pull off the best double scam in history: reap the profits from selling supplements advertised as natural (but that don’t actually work) and then expose said natural medicine scams to create laws that make it impossible to sell herbal remedies, leaving pharmaceuticals as the only option.

(As you can see, my years of asking, “Who is really behind this?” have sharpened my creative skills!)

DO YOU KNOW WHO’S ACCREDITING YOUR CHILDREN?
Most of us are aware of the need to question who is behind the sites we visit online and how objective or reliable its contents are. But, when it comes to certification and accreditation, we can really be fooled by authoritative sounding organizations and institutions. We still tend to think that it means something if a person or program is certified or accredited. It may, or it may not.

ACCREDITED HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS IN CANADA
Fortunately (for simplicity’s sake), in Canada there really is only one accrediting body for high school credits: the provincial Ministry of Education. If you are inquiring about earning Canadian high school credits and want to ensure they are the official credits that count towards an official high school diploma, the answer you want to hear is that the program is accredited by the Ministry of Education. You want to hear that the program offers a ministry- or government-accredited high school diploma, not an equivalent diploma. There is only one “high school diploma” in each province, whether earned through correspondance, through a private school, at an alternative education centre, through a combination of night and/or summer school classes or at a regular public school – it’s the government-sanctioned, provincial diploma issued by the Ministry of Education.

ACCREDITED HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS IN THE UNITED STATES
In the US, however, there are a handful of organizations with super-serious, boring names that do accredit US high schools on behalf of the US government. Not surprisingly, there are also a few organizations with super-serious, boring names that offer accreditation to schools and programs who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for accreditation through the government-recognized organizations. So, if you’re considering a US-based program that claims to be certified, you have a little more work to do to figure out which body certifies the program and then whether that body is one of the government-recognized ones.

RECOGNITION OF HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS BY CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES
Canadian universities only recognize high school diplomas from the US that the US government would have recognized themselves. Students with a differently-accredited US diploma can not apply as regular high school students. They can, of course, apply for alternative admission (for example, as homeschoolers) and their diplomas can be considered in the admission process. But, Canadian universities can only accept a US government-recognized high school diploma to satisfy the “has a high school diploma” requirement. If you have one of the “other” diplomas, you do not, in the Canadian university’s eyes, have a “high school diploma” and you can’t apply as if you do.  So, that accredited diploma you earn may not come with the door-opening credentials you expect because of the organization offering the accreditation.

CONCLUSION
Not everyone needs accreditation for their high school level studies.  But if you do in fact need a government high school diploma, then you need to find out who is accrediting the program and confirm that the diploma is government-recognized.

Related Posts:
High School Credit Courses
Do I Need a High School Diploma?
7 Ways To Get Into University Without A High School Diploma
Homeschool Diplomas – Fact vs. Fiction

You can view and/or join the discussion here:

 http://messageboard.rainsberger.ca/topic/162696/

Diploma:
1. an official or state document
2. a writing usually under seal conferring some honor or privilege
3. a document bearing record of graduation from or of a degree conferred by an educational institution

It’s not exactly clear-cut, but the implication behind the word diploma is that it has been awarded to the recipient by someone with the explicit power to do so.

WHY I TAKE ISSUE WITH THE PHRASE “HOMESCHOOL DIPLOMA”

Here’s why I don’t like the phrase “homeschool diploma” (and I know many people find my site by searching that phrase, so I’m not just making this up!):

The family unit does have the power to confer some honor or privilege upon a child who has, in the family’s mind, successfully completed high school.

But, the family unit does not have the power to confer upon said child an award that others outside the family are forced to acknowledge.

It is misleading, I believe, to represent yourself as having earned a “high school diploma” because that phrase carries with it the understanding that a government-approved organization assessed and granted diploma status. In other words, if it came off your own printer, how “official” can it really be?

HOW DO HOMESCHOOLERS GET A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA?

When I speak on the topic of university admissions, I’m often asked how homeschoolers “get a high school diploma.” The reality is, many homeschoolers do not get a high school diploma. And in fact, by definition (according to the universities), if you have a high school diploma, you are not a homeschooler!

If you go through the homeschool admission policies of the Ontario universities, you’ll notice that while you may be asked to provide a transcript, or portfolio, you will not be asked to submit a “diploma.” That’s because universities do not recognize diplomas unless they come from a government-accredited source.

And most importantly, a homeschooled applicant is one who by definition does not possess a government diploma. So, the university is not expecting you to present any diploma whatsoever. This is why you’re considered a homeschooler, and this is why you’re presenting a portfolio, or standardized test results or some other requirement that is not required of traditionally-schooled applicants.

BUT MY CHILD IS ENROLLED IN AN OUTSIDE PROGRAM LEADING TO A DIPLOMA. AM I STILL CONSIDERED A HOMESCHOOLER?

Now, I have had this discussion with others re: “diplomas” that come at the end of comprehensive curriculum programs, mostly those available out of the U.S. and completed through distance studies.

One mother was adamant that her child’s university “accepted” this diploma. The reality is, and it’s a fine distinction so bear with me, the university accepted the child, who happened to have this diploma when he applied.

While the university took this diploma into consideration, and subsequently decided to admit the student, this does not mean that this program’s diploma is “recognized” or “accepted.” The university is not allowed to recognize a non-government-accredited diploma as fulfilling the “does this kid have a high school diploma?” requirement. Note that a government approved diploma can be from *any* government, not just a Canadian province. But, it does have to be awarded by ultimately an organization that is under the jurisdiction of a country’s own education system, not a private curriculum company.

That being said, there are some correspondence diplomas from the U.S. that are government accredited. In fact, the very first time I spoke at the KW conference, we discovered that two members of the audience were following a program that led to an official state diploma from the U.S. This meant that, in the eyes of the universities, these students were not homeschoolers because they had a government diploma to present. So, the specific program you’re following makes a huge difference. (More about these U.S. programs later.)

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT DIPLOMAS, AND WHY YOU’RE OFTEN ASKING THE WRONG QUESTIONS AND THEREFORE GETTING THE WRONG ANSWERS

Here are some of the misconceptions I’ve encountered over the years:

FACT: A diploma is ultimately just a piece of paper signifying an academic honor or achievement. The diploma is not the high school education itself. If you homeschool, you may not receive a diploma for your work. To put it bluntly, get over it! What I mean is, separate the diploma from the education in your mind, and focus not on achieving the diploma at all costs, but rather achieving your life goals (e.g. university admission), then decide whether the diploma is absolutely necessary. Recognize that not every life goal requires a high school diploma, and in fact, some goals are more easily attained without said diploma. When you’re on my website, remember that my primary concern isn’t earning you a diploma — it’s getting you into university, and all advice is given within that context.

FACT: A diploma carries with it the underlying assumption that whoever issued the diploma has been approved by the government to hold the power to certify and acknowledge academic achievement, and this is what allows diplomas to carry universal recognition. This is why not everyone can have a diploma for doing just anything, no matter how worthy it is. Again, get over it! You are not entitled to a government’s seal of approval if you did not do what they specifically require for a high school diploma. The good news is, people like me have been working for years so that this lack of a diploma isn’t an obstacle when applying to university.

FICTION: You need a high school diploma before entering post-secondary studies, so even if you’re 23 with a lot of life experience, you should be figuring out how to go back and get those high school credits that you’re missing so that you can apply to university.
FACT: Apply as a mature student, or to an open university. Don’t waste your time with high school credits unless you really feel you are lacking the academic knowledge/confidence and specifically want to study at the high school level.

FACT: When universities use the phrase “high school diploma” they mean only diplomas issued by government accredited organizations. It’s important to realize that, in Ontario as in many other government jurisdictions, there is only one recognized high school diploma – the government one. All accredited schools (public, private, independent, correspondence) issue this same diploma, not an “equivalent” diploma, but the exact, same one. That’s what being accredited means — given the authority to issue the government diploma.

FACT: People will prey on your innocence/ignorance surrounding diplomas. A few years ago, I overheard one vendor at a large homeschooling conference in Ontario describing his program’s “diploma” to a parent. Words and phrases like “equivalent” and “our kids get into university just like everyone else” are misleading when the audience doesn’t realize two key points. First, there is no such official thing as an “equivalent” diploma. That’s not an official term and no one regulates what is “equivalent” to ensure that it really is like the original. In other words, having an equivalent diploma still means that you don’t have the traditional, government high school diploma. Second, while students with these equivalent diplomas may “similarly get into university” they certainly do not “get into university in a similar way” to kids with the government diploma. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with using an unaccredited program for your high school years, there *is* something very wrong with using verbal sleight of hand to make people think that your diploma “counts” as what we have come to know as a “high school diploma.” And, this is a huge difference. It’s the difference between applying as a homeschooler and applying with the traditional high school diploma (which, if you had, would make you not a homeschooler in the eyes of the universities).

FICTION: All Ontario high schools offer the government diploma, in other words, the one that is recognized.
FACT: In Ontario, all schools that have chosen to “register” with the government will be listed in database which can be searched here. But, not every school listed is permitted to issue high school diplomas. In other words, not every “registered” school (here’s my application fee) is an “accredited” school (permitted to grant the government high school diploma). Look for the indication “Offers credits towards the Ontario Secondary School Diploma” in their listing.

FICTION: Any correspondence diploma from the U.S. is one way to “get around” not having an Ontario high school diploma.
FACT: In the US, there is an extra layer involved in government accreditation. There are about half a dozen “accrediting organizations” that have government approval to accredit individual schools and school boards. So, when using a curriculum from the United States, it’s important to first find out which organization issues the school’s accreditation, and then determine whether this organization is one of the government ones. There are accrediting bodies in the United States who have not received government approval to accredit schools for the government diploma, meaning that the individual school or program can claim “certification” for its diploma, but just not government certification, which is what Ontario universities will demand. Be careful, there are some well-known names out there whose diplomas are not recognized by universities. This doesn’t mean that the universities won’t consider the academic achievement involved in obtaining them, but these diplomas are not stand ins for a government diploma.

FICTION: You need a high school diploma to put on your resume after graduating from college, university or other post-secondary education/training.
FACT: If you are continuing on to post-secondary education/training, that is the education that should be represented on your resume. Not having a high school diploma when you already have a university degree or college diploma should not ordinarily present any problems to you in the job market.

• The combination of the new courses, MHF 4U – Advanced. Functions and MCV 4U – new Calculus is being treated as the rough equivalent of MCB 4U – old Calculus.

• If MCB 4U – old Calculus is used, then neither MHF 4U- Advanced Functions nor MCV 4U- new Calculus can be included in the six Grade 12 courses required to calculate an admission average.

• Conversely, if either MHF 4U – Advanced Functions or MCV 4U- new Calculus is used, then MCB 4U- old Calculus cannot be included in the six Grade 12 courses required to calculate an admission average.

In a nutshell, it now takes two courses (Functions/Calculus) to equate to the old calculus course, and you may either use the first pair of courses or the second course in your admission requirements/averages (Top Six).

Read the fine print – one course or two?
Even though a program requiring a Calculus prerequisite now means that you have to take two math courses, it doesn’t necessarily mean both will be included in your Top Six. When a program requirement includes MCV4U, it is assumed that you already took MHF4U, because your high school would have required that you take the latter as a pre- (or co-) requisite.

Some university programs will only require the Calculus course. This tends to be true for programs in the Business fields where they need you to have a foundation in Calculus, but not in the more abstract realm of functions.  As in the Queen’s chart, this is often indicated by an asterisk following the Calculus course, with a note at the bottom reminding you that your high school will require you to take the Advanced Functions course, even though Queen’s does not need this mark for university admission. In this case, you still must take MHF4U, but it does not need to be included in your Top Six.  In this case, the functions course will be treated like an elective, and included if the grade is high enough to be to your advantage in the Top Six calculation.

Other programs, however, do explicitly state both math courses as a requirement.  You’ll find this in math-intense subjects such as computer programming or engineering.  In this case, you will be required to include both math courses in your Top Six.

program, performance, preparation, passion and presentation

Here’s my take on these strategies for Ontario home schoolers, starting with the first one.

Program:

For traditionally-schooled students, this would mean take the most challenging courses, even if it means you may earn a lower grade.  This advice is applicable to Ontario home schoolers to a certain extent.

If you are following the “Top Six” route, then you will already be taking six “honours level” courses.  As long as the prerequisite courses are included among those six, then the other “U” courses really don’t matter.  So in fact, a common Ontario strategy is in fact to take a balance of required, interesting, and “easy” courses.  If they are not prerequisites, then the universities will not care too much whether you took a history, food nutrition, or a science course to fill out your Top Six.  They are all honours level courses, and none are weighted more heavily than others or considered to be significantly “better” than others.  You can be sure that traditionally-schooled kids are trying to sneak a few of the supposedly “easier” courses into their top six, so don’t worry about doing that yourself.

If your home schooling program includes graded non-credit courses, then don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. These courses may have “something to prove” in the eyes of the university since admission departments can’t be sure that they do in fact compare to the Ontario 12U courses (even though they in fact may be far more challenging).  This is where the program strategy is most applicable.  If you choose to take an Economics course, for example, through an institution other than an approved accredited Ontario school, then do take the one with the most impressive sounding syllabus, the greatest depth of content or the most academic textbook.  Since grades in these courses are only used in the admission process in a “holistic” way, and not to calculate an admissions average, the grade will be less important than convincing the university that you are prepared for the challenge of university level work.

If instead you are simply following a textbook, using a tutor or choosing a similar self-study method that does not involve a final grade, do be sure to include advanced-level topics and stretch yourself with your level of study.  Students considering business, science, mathematics, computer science, architecture or engineering, for example should include the study of Calculus in their programs either formally or informally. But, don’t feel bound to simply follow the Ontario curriculum, which removed much of its calculus content from its senior math course less than a decade ago.  Study for the AP Calculus exam (even if you find yourself unable to write the exam itself), find the old “red calculus book” that was used for years in Ontario high schools or find a first year university calculus text book and learn calculus like we did in the good old days.  (Great strategy:  if you know which university you wish to attend, use its own first year calculus book to prepare!)

The bottom line is that program selection is much less important for Ontario university applicants than for US applicants, simply because Ontario has already designated a certain list of courses as the required selection pool of “university entrance” courses.   If you take six 12U credits, then you generally be treated like a traditionally-schooled Ontario applicant, so there is little strategy involved other than to be well prepared for the courses you need and to do well in them. It is if you avoid these credit courses, however, that the strategy takes on greater significance.  In this case, your application may be judged on an individual basis and the admissions officers will have to examine your high school program more carefully.  Or, you may choose to rely on the strength of standardized test scores, such as SAT Subject Tests, in which case you will want the strength of a solid educational foundation behind you, not an easily-awarded high mark.

I won’t go into too much detail describing Joe’s ideas on planning; he does planning for a living, so suffice it to say that he’s very good at it, and his methods probably deserve coverage that is beyond the scope of this little introduction. But in short, Joe’s planning is intertwined throughout his daily activities. Joe doesn’t try to make an ideal plan for the day, or even a full plan for the day. Instead, whatever comes next is dependent upon what’s already happened, relying on past feedback to predict future outcomes. Joe would feel constrained by a plan that’s already proven to be ineffective, off course or impossible by 10:00 a.m., given what has happened since 9:00 a.m.

What does all this have to do with university admissions? Well, no matter what kind of home schooling family you are, if you think your children might be bound for university, you need a plan. No one can wake up one morning and decide that today’s the day you try to get into university. You can be unstructured about schooling but you cannot face the bureaucratic beast that is Ontario’s post-secondary education system unprepared. Certainly our planning is made easier with the freely-available home school admission policies available on the web. But, have these plans freed home schoolers to go about their home-school-through-high-school without fear of the unknown, or have they now constrained our home-school-through-high-school options because we will now have them in the back (or front!) of our minds throughout a home-based high school experience?

Home-Schooled Students Rise in Supply and Demand By PAULA WASLEY describes this trend in university admissions in the US, where from 2000 to 2004, the percentage of colleges and universities with an official homeschooling policy rose from about 50% to about 85%. (emphasis added by me to illustrate the key points)

Without traditional points of comparison, like class ranking and grade-point averages, colleges tend to fall back on standardized-test scores. Many require that home-schoolers take two or more SAT 2 subject tests in addition to an SAT or ACT.

As the number of home-schoolers applying to college continues to grow, admissions offices have attempted to streamline the process. The University of Richmond, for example, has one admissions officer assigned to read all applications from home-schoolers. This year the Common Application, a format used by more than 300 colleges, added a supplement for home-schoolers, which both pleases and unsettles some home-school advocates.

“We’re not fighting to even be considered anymore,” says Howard Richman, executive director of the Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency, one of seven organizations in the state that provides accredited diplomas to home-schooled graduates. On the other hand, he says, such standardization may cost home-schoolers some of the individuality that has set them apart.

Bringing home schoolers out into the open and requesting policies from universities has had its pros and cons. From the standpoint of a worried, nervous family, nothing is more assuring than seeing in black and white exactly which steps are needed to fulfill admission requirements. A clear, well-defined home schooling policy is sometimes the most guidance a home-school-through-high-school family has ever seen before!

On the other hand, are home schoolers now finding themselves “boxed in” by the increase in official policies, especially those that are increasingly relying on standardized tests? When there was no policy, there was no black and white. Now that these policies exist, it really means we have to conform to them.

Personally, I think the policies have done more good than harm. Trying to enter university without pre-defined conditions and expectations is a little like avoiding a question that you don’t really want answered. Sure, you can say, “You never told me what you wanted,” but they have every right to respond, “You never asked.”

I recognize that some may view the convergence of admission policies as contributing to the homogenization of an otherwise very diverse group of individuals. Some may see it as unfair that home schooled applicants may be increasingly encouraged to take standardized tests whereas their traditionally-schooled counterparts (here in Ontario) are generally exempt from high-stakes testing, and certainly are at the university entrance level. Of course, we can’t forget that home-school-through-high-school kids have been allowed to ignore provincial curriculum, mandated teaching methods and other such undesirable attributes of a traditionally-schooled education. I’d say it at worst evens out, but more often than not favours the home schooled.

If it wouldn’t normally be your inclination to do so, I’m going to suggest that you try thinking of these policies as I do — as freeing. Free from the worry about what the universities expect from you. Free from the hours spent figuring out how to document your child’s education. Free from the worry that your family’s choice has limited your children’s options. You know what’s expected of you — just plan for it as part of your long-term homeschooling strategy.

“Poorly educated parents who choose to teach their children at home produce better academic results for their children than public schools do. One study we reviewed found that students taught at home by mothers who never finished high school scored a full 55 percentage points higher than public school students from families with comparable education levels.”

Hepburn said evidence clearly demonstrates that home education may help reduce the negative effects of some background factors that many educators believe affects a child’s ability to learn, such as low family income, low parental educational attainment, parents not having formal training as teachers, race or ethnicity of the student, gender of the student, not having a computer in the home, and infrequent usage of public libraries.

The study also reports that students educated at home outperform their peers on most academic tests and are involved in a broad mix of social activities outside the home.

“The average Canadian home schooled student is regularly involved in eight social activities outside the home. Canadian home schooled children watch less television than other children, and they show significantly fewer problems than public school children when observed in free play,” she said.

The report concludes that home schooling is not only a viable educational choice for parents, but can also be provided at a much lower cost than public schooling. The report notes that in the U.S., home schooling families spend less than $4,000 per year on home schooling while public schooling in the U.S. costs about $9,600 per child.

“Canadian and American policymakers should recognize the ability of parents to meet the educational needs of their children at home, without government involvement,” Hepburn said.

“While home schooling may be impractical for many families, it has proven to be a successful and relatively inexpensive educational alternative. It merits the respect of policy makers, the attention of researchers, and the consideration of parents.”

Given how abysmal university prep can be in our high schools (both public and private), it now makes even more sense to pursue a home-based high school education — and get into university!

A few students have checked in with me about how their school years have started. It’s stories like these that make me grateful that I no longer have a vested interest in how teachers are teaching (or not teaching, as the case may be) my students:

Sarah, would you like to know how to mke the inverse of a parabola?? We take our paper, flip it over, turn it around and trace it! I turned to my friend and was like is this a sick joke? (Actual MSN transcript, edited only to make it a single paragraph.)

Now, some of you will have a mini-heart attack, although likely only if you’re a math tutor. The rest of you probably won’t get what’s going on here, so let me attempt to summarize in a non-mathy way. (You’re lucky, my first instinct was to explain the math. You can thank me later.)

Non-math summary: This student is in Gr. 12. This student is learning one of those things that most people only use when “building bridges.” This student is learning barebones tricks based on pattern recognition for putting something on the page that a teacher can mark as being correct without needing to understand any of the math behind it. And we’re wondering why bridges are collapsing all over the place?

To compare, I can teach you “calculus” in the same way right now, in about 12 seconds. Ready?

The derivative of 8x is 8. The derivative of 24x is 24. The derivative of -123x is -123. The derivative of 67x is 67. So, what’s the derivative of 17x? Not a trick question. It is in fact 17. Congratulations. I just taught you calculus. I can give you a test right now to prove that you know calculus and to prove to the Ministry of Education that I’ve taught calculus. You may think I’m kidding, but this is what passes for teaching in more classrooms than anyone wants to admit.

This is just another reason why we live here now.

In a nutshell, IB is a whole curriculum leading to the IB diploma and the AP program is individual exams leading to a score for each subject test you write. IB is perhaps better for European/International universities, whereas AP is probably favoured by American universities. Both are recognized in Canada. The IB is a 2 year, comprehensive program including an independent research essay. AP marks are based only on a single big (mostly multiple choice) exam in May. You don’t even have to technically be in a school that teaches AP in order to write the AP test; you just have to find a school at which to write it. To participate in the IB program, you need to be registered an IB school.

Any student can take advantage of the AP exams, including home schoolers, since registration in a particular course is not required. You can prep on your own with AP prep books from the bookstore/library and web resources. There is a school in Oakville, Ontario who welcomes home schoolers who would like to sit examinations on exam day, and they do not require any kind of official enrollment with the school.

Some other comparisons can be found here:

http://www.lee.k12.fl.us/schools/rdh/IB/ap-ib.htm

http://www.shawneemissionib.com/comparison/default.htm

http://northport.k12.ny.us/ib/APandIB.htm

and the official document jointly published by the IBO and Collegeboard describing the two programs is a pdf file located here.

A more reasonable comparison, therefore, might be made between the SAT II Subject Tests vs. AP exams.

SAT Subject Tests (formerly called SAT II Tests) are the equivalent of high school exit exams wheras AP exams are the equivalent of first year university/college final exams. SAT Subject tests are almost exclusively multiple choice whereas AP exams include multiple choice and full-length (free response) questions. Both are subject-specific, meaning you can take one for history, one for chemistry etc. But, the level of study is different. Writing an SAT Subject Test is like writing a final exam for a 12U course whereas writing an AP exam is like writing a first year university/college final exam.

Both tests can be used for university admissions in Ontario in lieu of a high school diploma. The AP program is considered to be an “advanced” program, not available to all students. So, AP’s will never be required for university entrance. SAT Subject Tests, on the other hand, can be written as often and in as many locations as the General SAT Reasoning Test is held, and some schools may require SAT II Subject Tests for admission. (Talk to individual universities to see whether they will allow you to present AP scores instead of SAT Subject Test scores. In Ontario, where none of these tests are required of regular Ontario high school applicants, they likely will let you substitute; they just want to see a mark on some test from a home schooler. In the US however, where these tests are part of the regular admission process, they may not.)

AP exams, because of their advanced academic content, may earn you university credit if you score high enough. SAT Subject Tests will definitely not earn you university credit, but will instead be used to determine 12U subject-specific equivalent knowledge. If a home schooler take the “Top Six” then they will not need to take SAT Subject Tests because this knowledge will already have been evaluated. But, a home schooler may wish to take both the Top Six and AP exams because AP content goes beyond the Ontario Grade 12 curriculum and extends into university-level study.

As with any document like this, it can go out of date as policies change and it should not be considered your official resource. Always check directly with the university’s own website (often under “Admission” or “Prospective Students”) for the last word. Still, it’s a nice two-page pdf that is a handy reference guide for which schools will probably require which math course for 2008 admission, and was accurate as of November 2006. Note: the original info was collected from OUAC’s Electronic Info website.

Thanks, Wayne!