Under- and Overenrollments: Race and Place in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program

• In Event: How Public Are Desirable Urban Public Schools? Theme Schools and Equity, School Choice, and Gentrification

Abstract

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) expanded rapidly in the United States in the last 20 years (Figure 1) but its growth has not been uniform across the country (Figure 2). In this paper, I describe trends in the geographic distribution of IBDPs in the U.S. Next, I analyze the distribution of students by race-ethnicity in the IBDP and their larger schools, identifying the areas and school characteristics of those with the largest underrepresentation of Black and Latin@ students.

The IBDP is often implemented as a magnet or specialized program, enrolling a select group of students within a school. Though magnet programs were introduced in schools as a means to improve racial integration and balance by promoting voluntary desegregation (Chubb & Moe 1997; Goldring 2009; Hill and Jochim 2009; Wells 1993), studies have found that magnet and other choice options may encourage white flight and contribute to the racial isolation of students in schools (Clotfelter 2004; Orfield & Frankenberg 2013; Renzulli & Evans 2005; Sohoni & Saporito 2009). Additionally, I argue that the IBDP is a means of effectively maintaining inequality (Lucas 2001), serving as a qualitative marker of distinction among high school graduates. As one of the most rigorous programs in which students can participate, the underrepresentation of Black and Latin@ students in the program is of utmost concern in ongoing attempts to mitigate educational inequalities.

The data for this paper come from two sources: the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) and the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). From the IBO, I collected information about each IBDP school in the U.S., including its address and the date the school became authorized to offer the program, comprising a census of IBDPs in the country. Using this information, I matched each public school to its record in the CRDC, and merged 2011-12 data for 618 public schools.

Preliminary analyses comparing the enrollment of students in IBDP to that of the larger school indicate that IBDPs contribute to within-school segregation, though the extent of this varies by urbanicity (Table 1). White students are significantly more likely to be underserved in suburbs and overserved in cities, where Black students are significantly more likely to be underserved in cities. Overall, I find a curvilinear relationship between the percent of a particular race-ethnic group the school and in IBDP, as well as the racial composition of schools affecting the over- and under-serving of students within IBDPs.

These early findings point to different strategies in the placement of the program in particular schools and the enrollment of race-ethnic groups in IBDPs. Schools in cities appear to target the retention of white students with IBDPs, and in suburbs, the program may serve to increase race-ethnic diversity in schools. Either way, I find IBDPs operate as schools-within-schools. Instead of increasing diversity in advanced course taking, IBDPs appear to contribute to the racial isolation of students in schools, supporting previous work examining choice options (see Clotfelter 2004; Renzulli & Evans 2005; Sohoni & Saporito 2009).

Author

• Kristi Lynn Donaldson, University of Notre Dame