1. South Side High School in the “top 100”
# 46 in the U. S.
#1 on Long Island
The #2 community high school in the U.S.

2. Measures achievement and access
Math and English Regents:
Student performance must be significantly better than expected
Disadvantaged students perform better than the statewide average
IB and AP:
Significant numbers take and pass the exams
Rank determination: 75% scores, 25% participation rate

3. Newsweek
Rated among the 50 best high schools in the United States each year since 2000
Numbers of students taking IB and AP
Provides an excellence and equity rating based on test performance

4. Class of 2004 – A Study of College Completion Presented by Ben Moss
South Side High School
Class of 2004 – A Study of College Completion
Presented by Ben Moss

5. Class of 2004
This past summer we conducted a survey of 2004 SSHS graduates to learn whether or not they had graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree. We were able to contact 74% of the class.
Students contacted were not different from those not contacted (using PSAT scores as the measure of achievement).

6. Did IB make a difference?
We compared students who…
Took both IB English & IB Math
Were Full IB Diploma Candidates
…with students who did not take those courses.
Correlation between PSAT and IQ

7. Percentage of Students who Earned a Bachelor’s Degree in 4 Years

8. Would these students have graduated in 4 years anyway?
We looked at 5 predictive factors to determined which ones influenced college graduation:
Ethnicity
Socioeconomic background
Special Education Status
Ability as measured by 10th Grade PSAT scores
Coursework
We used binary logistic regression analysis to determine if any of the above were significant contributors, and if so, to what extent?

9. Analysis
Taking IB English and IB Math was the only significant contributor in the model that affected 4 year college completion.
Students were 4 times more likely to graduate college in 4 years if they studied IB English and IB Math
Students were nearly 7 times more likely to graduate college in 4 years if they were a full IB Diploma candidate

10. Class of 2002 & Class of 2004 A Comparison
Students who earned a Bachelors’ Degree in 4 Years
62%
Students who graduated in 4 years and took IB English and IB Math
88%
Students who graduated in 4 Years who did not take the 2 IB courses
32%
75%
85% within 5 years
90%
A couple of years ago, at the high school we looked at the effectiveness of our IB program and whether we felt it truly prepared students for college. In the past we had always looked at anecdotal reports from students who had told us we were prepared, but we felt it would help to have some real quantitative evidence.
62% earned a bachelor’s degree in 4 years in 2002
This number rose to 75% for the Class of 2004 (85% within 5 years)
88% of students who took at least IB English and IB Math graduated in 4 years
This number rose to 90% for the Class of 2004
32% of students who did not take 2 IB courses graduated in 4 years
This number rose to 44% for the Class of 2004
44%

11. Why does IB make such a difference?
What does 4 times more likely, and 7 times more likely mean?
What is it about the IB curricula that prepares our students for college?

12. Knowledge and Skills for University Success (KSUS) Standards
Describe the cognitive skills and knowledge that students need in order to be successful in college
KSUS were developed and endorsed by 28 of the leading research universities in the US
The IB course standards were analyzed for alignment with KSUS by the Center for Policy Research (CEPR) and the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC)

13. What IB wants students to know and do is well-aligned with KSUS standards
IB standards for English, TOK and the extended essay are in 90% alignment with KSUS
In critical thinking and research there is complete alignment
There is excellent alignment in mathematics—KSUS 24 standards for algebra were perfectly aligned with Math Studies
Perfect alignment with KSUS science standards in IB Bio, Chem and Environmental Systems, and near perfect in IB Physics

14. From the analysis…
“The results of this study clearly confirm the strong relationship between the IB Diploma Programme and standards for college readiness and success.  The IB standards demonstrate a very high degree of alignment with the KSUS standards in all subject areas.  In addition, many of the individual IB standards are at a level more advanced than entry-level college courses. These key cognitive skill areas are rarely addressed in state content standards but are identified almost universally by college instructors as being central to success in entry-level college courses.  In short, students who participate successfully in IB should be well prepared to succeed in entry-level college general education courses…”