International Baccalaureate

Students at Archbishop STCS/Walsh’s International Baccalaureate® (IB) World School are given a superior educational experience during 8^ththrough 12^th grade that will prepare them for success in college and benefit them their entire lives.

Walsh IB Students:

• are encouraged to think independently and drive their own learning
• take part in programs of education that can lead them to some of the highest ranking universities around the world
• become more culturally aware, through the development of a second language
• will be able to engage with people in an increasingly globalized, rapidly changing world.

IB World School students develop strong academic, social and emotional characteristics. They are also likely to perform well academically – often better than students on other programs, such as AP.

Studies conducted with the IB Programme show :

• IB students have significantly higher college acceptance rates
  • 43% to 157% higher rates than non-IB Students at Ivy League Universities – Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Yale, etc
  • 21% to 140% higher rates than non-IB Students at Selective Universities – Boston University, Duke, University of Virginia, University of Miami, etc.
• IB graduates are better able to adjust to the rigors of university coursework; students specifically highlighted a number of skills gained through participation in the Diploma Programme (DP), including critical-thinking, time management and research skills
• IB levels the college enrollment playing fieldfor lower income IB students versus non-IB students
• IB HL Math leads the way– 4 IB Mathematics courses were compared to 5 mathematics qualifications from around the world (Advanced Placement (AP), Alberta Diploma, GCE A, Singapore-Cambridge GCE A, Gaokao).  IB Math HL was determined to be the most cognitively demanding course of those examined.
• IB students enroll in college and graduate at higher rates than non IB students– 92% of DP students who graduated from high school enrolled in university within a six-year period, while 78% of students enrolled immediately after high school. DP students also had high four-year (79%) and six-year university graduation rates (83% for DP students, compared to 56% nationally) (Bergeron 2015)

For further information about the IB and its programs, visit 

• http://www.ibo.org
• https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/publications/ib-research/research-dp-findings-en.pdf
• https://www.ibo.org/testimonials/ib-alumni-from-north-america/