An Existence Proof: Successful Joint Implementation of the IMP Curriculum and a 4 x 4 Block Schedule at a Suburban U.S. High School.

This "Brief Report" summarizes results from a study that investigated joint effects of two innovations adopted at a high school in an affluent suburban community in the northeast United States: 4 x 4 block scheduling and the Standards-based curriculum, the Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP). By the end of 12th grade, cohorts of students who had studied IMP under a block schedule scored higher on most measures of mathematics achievement than had earlier cohorts of students who had studied a traditional high school mathematics curriculum under a traditional schedule. This article also describes actions taken by the school to build capacity before adopting the reforms. The results can be seen as an "existence proof' of what can happen when these reforms are adopted jointly at a site that has put considerable effort into building capacity to implement them well.