STATUS & PROCESS EVALUATION IB Evaluation Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary . 4 Literature Review . 5 History. 5 The IB Curriculac. 6 Access to IB. 8 Benefits of IB . 11 College Persistence and Performance. 11 Methodology . 19 Structure & Implementation . 22 Recruitment & Application . 22 IB Courses . 26 Other Components. 27 Community Partnerships . 28 Incorporation of Technology. 28 Faculty & Staff . 28 Culture of IB Program in SCPS . 30 SCPS Finances for IB . 40 IB Data Collection and Evaluations . 43 Recommendations . 44 Appendices . 48 Appendix A - Complete IB Course Listing . 48 Appendix B - College Credit. 49 Appendix C - Comparison Divisions Chart . 50 Appendix D - Interview Protocol. 52 Appendix E - IB Parent Survey. 56 Appendix F - IB Student Survey. 65 Appendix G - IB Application . 71 Appendix H - IB Courses. 79 Appendix I - AP Courses . 87 Appendix J -Textbooks. 97 Appendix K - Participation. 99 Appendix L - Mountain View Review . 107 Appendix M - Brooke Point Review . 109 References . 110 Status & Process Evaluation: | Stafford County Public Schools 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme grew out of the need for an internationally transferable diploma in the wake of the rapid globalization following World Wars I and II. The International Baccalaureate formed to create such a diploma, leading to the creation of the Diploma Programme to earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma accepted as entrance criteria at major universities around the world. The International Baccalaureate Organization has expanded its offerings over the years to include a Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme, and most recently, a Career-related Programme. Stafford County offers the Diploma Programme at two of its five high schools. Both Mountain View and Brooke Point offer the IB Diploma to students within the division. Students can take individual courses or pursue the full Diploma at each school. While financial, time, and personnel costs are associated with the program, IB programming can also provide greater access to rigorous academics for historically underrepresented populations, when implemented in ways that do not impede access. While Stafford could take steps to improve access and support for students pursuing the full Diploma, a fairly diverse group of students are participating in at least one IB course. The OAAP recommends continuing the IB program, while considering the following recommendations: 1. Set division goals for the purpose of the International Baccalaureate Program in SCPS. 2. Consider providing transportation to students outside of the Mountain View and Brooke Point attendance zones to enable increased student participation in the IB program. 3. Consider de-tracking in middle school and 9th and 10th grade to enable more students to participate in the IB program. 4. Consider methods to strengthen the vertical alignment between middle school to high school and between the 9th and 10th grades to the Diploma Programme of 11th and 12th grades. 5. Consider altering the approach to how weighted credit is assigned for IB coursework. 6. Consider adopting division-wide policies to ensure that students with varying life circumstances are not discouraged from pursuing rigorous programs such as the IB Diploma Programme in SCPS, such as subject fees and the inability of students to participate in study halls. 7. Consider the creation of a true pre-IB program. 8. Consider adjusting recruitment efforts for participation in the Diploma Programme. 9. Expand community partnerships. 10. Consider methods to better communicate about IB both within the division and with the broader population. 11. Consider alternative funding streams to help off-set the cost of offering IB programming in SCPS. 12. Continue to consider creative ways to increase the overlap and interaction between the IB program and other programs within the county. 13. Increase data collection and consistency before, during and following the Diploma Programme. 14. Consider the impact of the school year calendar on programs such as the International Baccalaureate. 15. Ensure teachers receive adequate training for teaching in the Diploma Programme. 4 Status & Process Evaluation: IB | Stafford County Public Schools LITERATURE REVIEW History The inception of the International Baccalaureate traces back to the end of World War I. As part of the Treaty of Ver- sailles and Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, the League of Nations was established as an international peacekeeping organization. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, vari- ous stakeholders saw the need to establish an international school to provide education to the array of students who came to Geneva as a result of their parents’ relocation for the League of Nations (Renaud, 1974, Fox, 1985, Walker, 2000 as cited in Dolby and Rahman, 2008). Established in 1927, the International School of Geneva had, from its founding, a goal of encouraging the development of an internationally-mind- ed student body (Renaud, 1974, Fox, 1985). While the League of Nations met its demise with the beginnings of World War educational concerns and at the United Nations Educational, II, the Geneva school persisted after the war, as global popu- Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquar- lations became more transient and the need for international ters founded the International Schools’ Association (ISA), a schools grew. non-governmental organization (NGO) with consultative sta- Following World War II the establishment of the United tus at UNESCO” (p. 4, 1974). The ISA subsequently received Nations as a replacement for the League of Nations ultimate- three back-to-back requests from UNESCO to consider how ly led to the creation of the United Nations International to develop a means of coordinating a global curriculum School (UNIS), once again for students outside of their birth recognizable across borders. country whose parents wanted to ensure they received a In 1963, the ISA obtained a grant from the Twentieth Century culturally unbiased education while in another country. The Fund with the expressed purpose of creating a “common cur- future school engaged in a number of conversations with the riculum and examination programme for the international International School of Geneva during the planning stage, schools, which would facilitate pupils’ admission to the uni- to determine its direction and goals (Fox, 1985). Fox (1985) versities of their choice” (Renaud, p. 4, 1974). Subsequently, notes that a number of additional international schools were in 1965 the International Schools’ Examination Syndicate established around the world during this postwar period (ISES) was established, which became the International Bac- as increasing numbers of diplomats and representatives of calaureate Organization the following year, headquartered in multinational corporations found themselves increasingly Geneva. An internationally representative board of examin- residing abroad with their families. In 1962, the first of seven ers was simultaneously established (Renaud, 1974, Fox, 1985, United World Colleges (UWC) was established in Wales (Fox, Matthews and Hill, 2005). The interest of Oxford University 1985, Daniel and Cox, 1992). A council, presided over by Earl in the venture, particularly of Alec D. C. Peterson, then the Mountbatten with members from multiple nations, over- head of the Oxford’s Department of Education (who joined saw the Atlantic.