Joshua Leake and Megan Townsend – National Student Clearinghouse
This study examined the postsecondary outcomes of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) students who graduated from high school in 2016 in the United States (US) and enrolled in US higher education institutions (n = 51,609). The findings showed that 74% percent of US DP graduates enrolled in college immediately after graduating from high school compared to 64% of all US high school graduates. DP students were also more likely than the national average to enroll in a four-year postsecondary institution and to attend a more selective four-year institution. Of the DP graduates who enrolled in college immediately after high school, 88% returned to the same institution the following year compared to 72% of all US students. Additionally, DP graduates had much higher four- and six-year graduation rates (64% and 86% respectively) compared to US students nationally (49% and 68% respectively). For both DP candidates and DP course students, these positive findings held when examining six-year graduation rates across racial and ethnic groups.
Associated study:
