Research on IB programmes

Outcomes research studies investigate the impact of International Baccalaureate® (IB) programmes on teachers, schools and students.

You can read our completed studies on this website. You'll find:

The studies aim to improve education. By examining the qualities and characteristics of schools, students and teachers, programme impact research helps both the IB and external organizations better understand the value of an IB education.

What do the studies achieve?

Programme impact research generally falls into one of three categories, which examine different aspects of an IB education. These are outlined below.

Student, school and systemic outcomes

These studies look at questions like:

What is the academic experience and performance of IB students?
How does the academic experience and achievement of IB students compare to their non-IB peers?
Are IB students academically engaged and challenged?
How well does an IB education prepare students for future success?
To what extent do students exhibit characteristics described in the learner profile?
To what extent do a school’s philosophy, structures and systems enable students to develop into the learners described in the profile?

Programme implementation

These studies look at questions like:

What is the impact of the implementation of an IB programme on schools, teachers and students?
How does the school change as a result of the implementation of an IB programme?
What are successful strategies and challenges in the implementation of IB programmes?

Programme standards and alignment

These studies look at questions like:

How do IB standards compare with educational standards of various global, national and state systems?
How do IB standards compare with well-established, strong academic standards for what students should know and learn?

If you have any questions about outcomes studies currently in progress, please contact IB Research.