In the U.S., the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) is growing in popularity as an alternative to the better-known Advanced Placement program. The College Board’s A.P. program, which offers a long menu of single-subject courses, is still the most common option for giving students a head start on college work, and a potential edge in admissions. The lesser-known I.B., a two-year curriculum developed in the 1960s at an international school in Switzerland, first took hold in the U.S. in private schools. Now it is now offered in more than 700 American high schools—more than 90% of them public schools—and almost 200 more have begun the long certification process.Many parents, schools, and students see the I.B. program as a rigorous and more internationally focused curriculum, and a way to impress college admissions officers. Some parents, however, say it is anti-American and too too closely tied to both the United Nations and radical environmentalism. (From its start in 1968 until 1976, the program was financed partly by UNESCO. It is now associated with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and until recently it endorsed the Earth Charter, a declaration of principles of sustainability that originated at the United Nations.) Others opponents object to the I.B. program’s cost—the organization charges $10,000 a year per school, $141 per student and $96 per exam—and say it is neither as effective as the A.P. program nor likely to reach as many students.Source: The New York Times