I have a daughter in an AB/AP high school. She is in the IB program for now, as an underclassman. Most, but not all, of the highest achievers DO tend to go the IB route and it requires a lot of work and time commitment, even for the best and brightest. Have you looked into the requirements for the diploma programme yet? It is quite time intensive, and many people do not realize how intensive it is (thesis done mostly over the summer. 120 hours of community service, etc). I know I did not until I attended several meetings at the high school. Anyway, the IB curriculum is inherently less flexible than the honors/AP route. So, it guess it really just all depends upon what sort of experience you want your child to have. Is the math flow really important to you? Is your child's peer group a big deciding factor? I say all of this without judgement. I just know there is a very large drop off in the number of kids who complete the middle years diploma versus those who continue on to the diploma program for various reasons. My daughter has to decide which route she wants to continue on very soon, and all of these things come into play (friends, time commitments, rigor of program, etc). IB and AP courses are very different from my understanding, too. I would look at the totality of the programs in making your decisions, and not just the math piece, though I understand that is very important to you.
