Do IB students have higher critical thinking? A comparison of IB with national education programs

The 21st century has been characterised by increasingly complex and intractable problems. In order to address these challenges, many have argued that critical thinking is becoming an increasingly vital skill. Educators have increasingly aimed to use instructional techniques that develop students’ critical thinking. The International Baccalaureate (IB), an internationally recognized secondary qualification, is underpinned by teaching practices that are claimed to develop their students’ critical thinking. However, to date, there has not been a systematic study evaluating whether the critical thinking skills of IB students differ significantly from their peers. Here we examine the critical thinking skills of Year 11 (49.8%) and Year 12 (50.2%) students enrolled in either the IB DP (n = 282) or equivalent national degree programs (n = 284) in Australia, England, and Norway. Critical thinking was assessed using the Cornell Critical Thinking Test. After controlling for pre-existing differences using multilevel modelling, including cognitive ability, personality, and parental education, we observed significantly higher critical thinking in IB students. The results suggest that participation in the IB is associated with higher critical thinking skills, although the causal effect(s) of IB participation remains uncertain.