ERIC Number: ED547677
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Aug
Pages: 76
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Apples and Oranges: Comparing the Backgrounds and Academic Trajectories of International Baccalaureate (IB) Students to a Matched Comparison Group
May, Henry; Rodriguez, Awilda; Sirinides, Philip M.; Perna, Laura W.; Yee, April; Ransom, Tafaya
Consortium for Policy Research in Education
As a critical step in understanding the impacts of IB, the analyses presented in this report examined the selection mechanisms behind IB participation across Florida, the state with the second highest representation of IB programs in the nation. We use longitudinal student and school-level data from 1995 through 2009 from the Florida K-20 Education Data Warehouse (EDW) to characterize individual students' educational histories from elementary school through high school and into college. To address issues of selection bias, we use propensity score methods (Rosenbaum & Rubin, 1983) to adjust for preexisting differences between IB and non-IB students. These analyses are designed to address the following research questions: (1) What are the student- and school-level predictors of participating in the IB Diploma Programme in Florida?; (2) To what degree does propensity score stratification or matching reduce selection bias associated with key student and school-level factors?; (3) What are the estimated differences in key postsecondary access indicators (i.e., SAT and ACT scores) and enrollment statistics (e.g., college selectivity) with and without different types of propensity score adjustments? Results revealed that, when looking at the statewide population in Florida, the selection bias associated with voluntary participation in IB is very large, and that mechanisms for dealing with selection bias using propensity scores may not be sufficient.
Descriptors: Foreign Students, Undergraduate Students, Bachelors Degrees, Educational Background, Comparative Analysis, Matched Groups, Advanced Placement Programs, Scores, Admission Criteria, Selection Criteria, Bias, Educational Indicators, Probability, Predictor Variables, Enrollment, Multivariate Analysis, Multiple Regression Analysis
Consortium for Policy Research in Education. University of Pennsylvania, 3440 Market Street Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Tel: 215-593-0700; Fax: 215-573-7914; e-mail: cpre@gse.upenn.edu; Web site: http://www.cpre.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: Consortium for Policy Research in Education; University of Delaware, Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP)
Identifiers - Location: Florida
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A090049; R305B090015