With increasing urgency, parents, educators, politicians, and businesspeople are asking: What can be done to raise American public schools to world-class standards? Supertest tells the story of the IB and its introduction to a steadily increasing number of American schools. The IB (International Baccalaureate) is a high school program recognized throughout the world. Students all over the world take the IB to prepare for the challenges of college. The IB makes demands on students and teachers. At one time the IB was considered most suitable for gifted students of elite private schools; it's now acknowledged that the rigorous IB program works especially well in "problem" public schools, many of which have witnessed truly remarkable results following their adoption of the IB.

Supertest interweaves the story of one American school that adopted the IB — Mount Vernon High School — with the story of the IB itself, how it was conceived, created, and developed.