Expanding Access, Participation, and Success in International Baccalaureate Programmes: Year One Documentation Report

In fall 2009, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded a three-year project (IB Access Project) with International Baccalaureate (IB) to increase participation of minority students and students in poverty in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP). The IB Access Project seeks to do four things: Improve teacher practice in designing curriculum and assessment that prepares students for the DP by providing new resources designed for this project; professional development and instructional support. Improve teacher access to resources for effective assessment design including increased use of online learning environments. Increase teacher onsite professional support around classroom practice. Increase participation of low-income and minority students in the pilot districts in both certificate courses and in the full DP. CPRE's evaluation of the IB project is focused on the changes in the student population, the use of the new instructional tools and participation in the professional development, the teacher perceptions of the progress of the students and the efficacy of the new tools, and changes in the outcomes for the newly recruited students.