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The authors use data for a large sample of Ontario students who are observed over five years from their initial entry into high school to study differences in postsecondary education (PSE) participation. The students are grouped by average neighbourhood income and birthplace (Canadian or foreign-born). The authors find substantial differences in the allocation of students based on their performance in Grade 9 courses and the types of PSE participation within achievement groupings. Foreign-born students, conditioning on performance in high school, are more likely to continue onto university and college. Foreign-born students in higher income neighbourhoods are more likely to pursue a university degree than a college credential. Uniformly, Canadian-born students are less likely to pursue a PSE credential upon the completion of high school.

This report raises the question of whether students are fully utilizing the flexibility offered by the high school curriculum. The high school curriculum is designed to offer courses at different levels. Most courses are offered at levels termed 'academic/university' or 'applied/college'. The academic path is key for university participation but can also be used to prepare students for college programs. The applied-path courses, however, cannot be used for admission into university programs. The high school curriculum does not require a student to take only academic or applied-path courses. Students could take academic-path courses in their stronger disciplines and applied-path courses in the others. In some instances, students can take courses termed 'mixed' that count as both academic and applied levels of courses. Despite the freedom to mix and match courses from the academic and applied paths, most students still opt for one of the two paths. Few students take both types.

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This report seeks to better understand secondary school high achievers and their [postsecondary education] PSE decisions. Unfortunately, little is known about high-achieving secondary school students in Ontario. For example, little is known about their postsecondary destinations or the ability of higher education institutions within Ontario and, more broadly, within Canada to retain them. Institutions often recruit high-achieving international students, but can the same be said for domestic students? This paper provides insight into the postsecondary decisions of secondary school students with the strongest academic records - that is, students who are considered to be the 'highest-achieving' high school graduates in Ontario. To explore this topic, [the authors] used two methodological approaches: studying application and admissions data from the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) and conducting interviews with secondary school counsellors and advisors. As a result, this report provides quantitative data displaying trends associated with the highest-achieving students, including comparisons against a larger population.

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We use a unique set of linked administrative data sets to explore the determinants of persistence and academic success in university. The explanatory power of high school grades greatly dominates that of other variables such as university program, gender, and neighbourhood and high school characteristics. Indeed, high school and neighbourhood characteristics, such as average standardized test scores for a high school or average neighbourhood income, have weak links with success in university.

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[The authors note that] jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are often predicted to account for a large share of job creation, and policy makers often encourage student enrollment in the STEM fields. Preparation for a STEM career requires students both to take the appropriate courses in high school and to apply to and register in a postsecondary STEM program. This paper examines a series of questions concerning persistence on the STEM path in Ontario, Canada high schools. The study is based on two administrative data sets on the high school performance of individual students, as well as the university programs they apply to and in which they register. The data track the students for five years and also include information on gender, birth year, home postal code and place of birth. The postal code allowed for linking to neighbourhood characteristics from the 2006 census, such as family income.

The greatest predictor of whether students stay on a STEM path is academic performance. Non-academic factors, such as gender, place of birth, average family income and other neighbourhood characteristics, play predictable but smaller roles in application and registration decisions. The authors of the study argue that more research and better data are needed to understand the mix of individual, home and school factors that ultimately account for success in high school science and math.

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