Supertest How the International Baccalaureate Can Strengthen Our Schools

by Mathews, Jay; Hill, Ian

• ISBN13: 9780812696004
• ISBN10: 081269600X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-27
• Publisher: Open Court

Summary

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a college entrance examination which can be taken in any country and is recognized by universities in any country. Adoption of the IB curriculum in a school ensures that the school is brought up to international standards.Supertest is two stories woven together: the birth and the growth of IB in the world and the United States, and the birth and growth of IB at Mount Vernon High. This will show how the ideas first conceived by a small group of educators in Switzerland eventually helped transform a typical American public school.Over 500 U.S. high schools currently participate in the I.B. program.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition	ix
Introduction by Jay Mathews	xi
Introduction by Ian Hill	xvi
1. A Difficult Start at Mount Vernon High	1	(4)
2. A Test to Unite the World	5	(2)
3. A High School Needing Help	7	(5)
4. Getting Ready for IB	12	(5)
5. An Idea from Geneva	17	(7)
6. Betsy Calhoon Gets Started	24	(4)
7. Talking to Parents	28	(5)
8. Thomas Aquinas Comes to Fairfax County	33	(4)
9. The International Experiment Begins	37	(5)
10. Welcome to Mount Vernon	42	(3)
11. Three Big IB Ideas	45	(10)
12. Training in New York	55	(4)
13. The First IB Exams	59	(11)
14. Hot Chocolate and Peanut Butter	70	(4)
15. Preparing Average Kids for IB	74	(4)
16. Too Much Homework	78	(3)
17. IB Comes to America	81	(4)
18. Slow Response from Geneva	85	(5)
19. Treating Plato Like Michael Jordan	90	(4)
20. A Rookie Teacher Tries IB	94	(4)
21. Raising American Standards	98	(5)
22. One Big Question	103	(5)
23. Geneva and New York Fight about Money	108	(5)
24. Mr. Rosenfeld's Students	113	(6)
25. IB and Rigor in America	119	(6)
26. Thinking in the Fishbowl	125	(5)
27. A School That Dumped IB	130	(6)
28. Ordering the Class Ring	136	(4)
29. A Teacher Struggles to Make the Grade	140	(7)
30. Inside the IB Exams	147	(7)
31. IB in New Places	154	(3)
32. IB or Not IB	157	(4)
33. Peterson Looks Back	161	(2)
34. Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Christin Roach	163	(4)
35. Signs of Success	167	(3)
36. The Comeback Teacher	170	(3)
37. Making It Harder to Get IB	173	(4)
38. Why Nazis Are Like Marxists	177	(4)
39. A New Principal Wants More IB	181	(3)
40. The Theory of Knowing Paganini	184	(4)
41. Still Pushing at Mount Vernon	188	(5)
42. Too Many Tests for Rosenfeld	193	(3)
43. The IB Credit Problem	196	(5)
44. Teaching "Socialism, Disarmament, Radical Environmentalism, and Moral Relativism"	201	(6)
45. Rousseau in Locust Valley	207	(7)
46. The Rise of IB	214	(4)
47. "You Can't Make Me Earn the Diploma"	218	(5)
48. Starting Late, Finishing Strong	223	(8)
Index	231