The International Baccalaureate[R] (IB) examination system has grown exponentially in the United States from 268 schools involved in 1999 to 1,090 schools in 2009. The fact that 49,100 students of a total of 87,800 students in 122 countries were from U.S. schools in 2009 has posed problems in strategic planning, assessment and training, the ability of the program to remain politically neutral, and the ability of the program to remain international and not take on an American persona.