CCRC is conducting a study of the implementation of the International Baccalaureate's Middle Years program (MYP) at six middle schools around the country.

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) is developing a curriculum leading up to the IB degree for implementation in middle schools. The Middle Years Programme is a whole school reform that has received funding from the Department of Education for implementation in five urban middle schools nationwide. The MYP emphasizes interdisciplinary connections, the development of critical thinking, global awareness, and project-based learning. Our evaluation of MYP consists of three parts. First, because the program is in an implementation phase, the primary goal of external evaluation will be to provide feedback to the IBO and schools on the progress made in initiating the program. Second, we will be assisting the schools in establishing programs of monitoring, whereby schools and IB will develop systems of data collection and analysis that will aid them in tracking the progress of the program and its students. Finally, although the first three years will not provide an opportunity to study the impact of the program on students, we will be following students' progress through MYP and establish a framework for analyzing their performance in the IB Diploma Programme once they reach high school.

This three-year study, which began in spring 2004, will explore the ways that the MYP encourages teachers to modify their practice and helps students enter high school prepared for the rigors of IB study.