Professor Scott Davies (University of Toronto) and Professor Neil Guppy (University of British Columbia)
This study examined the success of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) graduates across two of Canada’s largest high-school-to-university pathways: specifically, the Toronto District School Board to the University of Toronto (UofT), and public high schools in the Greater Vancouver Regional District to the University of British Columbia (UBC). The researchers compared the university outcomes of DP graduates to those of French Immersion (FI) graduates and graduates with standard high school diplomas in Toronto and Vancouver. Compared to graduates with traditional high school diplomas, DP graduates had significantly higher university grades. Additionally, DP students were less likely to drop out from university and were generally more likely to graduate in a timely manner. At both universities, DP graduates showed a greater likelihood of enrolling in science and engineering programmes as opposed to the arts and other faculties. DP graduates also fared well on a number of university outcomes compared to FI students, another enriched high school programme. In terms of province-specific findings, at UofT, DP students earned more merit awards and, at UBC, DP graduates were more likely to enrol in cooperative education programmes.