Understanding Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

Under the accountability provisions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) - formerly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) -- all public schools are evaluated for AYP. The reports are categorized by whole school and numerous student groups based on ethnicity and student demographics and based on the following criteria.

Schools receive a "yes" or "no" distinction in each of 40 different categories of achievement. A "no" in any one of the 40 categories will cause the school to be identified as not having made AYP for the year. For example, if a school is achieving above the benchmark levels in 39 areas, but falls short in one, the school will be identified as having not made AYP.

If you want to learn more about AYP, continue reading the information below developed by the Assessment and Evaluation Department.

No Child Left Behind Legislation

Statistics for determining AYP are based on school averages in 3rd -6th grades in elementary, 7th -8th in intermediate schools, and 10th-12th grade in high schools. The criteria are measured at a whole school level as well as 9 subgroups: (1) Asian, (2) African American, (3) American Indian, (4) Caucasian, (5) Hispanic, (6) Pacific Islander, (7) Economically Disadvantaged, (8) Limited English Proficient, and (9) Students with Disabilities. AYP is determined only for subgroups with 10 or more students continuously enrolled from Sept. 15 to the date of the test at a school.

There are 3 criteria for Calculating AYP:

  1. Participation - Schools should test all students. For AYP, 95% of all students enrolled during the testing window MUST be tested. This includes the school as a whole as well as each of the nine subgroups (with 40 or more students). If this criterion isn’t met, the school will not make AYP regardless of student proficiency levels.
  2. Academic Achievement - Although all students are tested at a school, only “Full Academic Year” students count. Full academic year is defined as: enrolled from Sept. 15 and for not less than 160 days at the same school. A school’s academic achievement in Language Arts and Math is measured one of two ways.
    1. Reaching the status bar set by the state: 77% of students scoring proficient in Language Arts and 71% of students scoring proficient in Math, for grades 3-8. For Grade 10 the status bar is 76% language arts and mathematics 59%. This will be calculated for the school as a whole and for each of the 9 subgroups.
    2. If the Status bar is not met, a school must show an improvement in the number of students that were not proficient from the previous year. The percentage of NOT PROFICIENT students must decrease by 10%. (See additional Safe Harbor Provision document)
  3. Additional Indicators - this will be based on attendance and the graduation rate.
    • In grades 3-8 the goal for school attendance (NOT participation rate in testing) is 93% or an improvement over the previous year. School attendance will be calculated only if the subgroup in question relied on the “safe harbor provision”.
    • The high school graduation rate of 85.7 is calculated on the group of students who stayed enrolled in high school during grades 10-12.

A school must have a “yes” in both subjects (Language Arts and Math), whole school and 9 subgroups to make AYP. If any criteria are not met for the whole school in any subgroup the school does not make AYP. If a Title 1 school has a “NO” for Language Arts or Math, (whole school or any subgroup) it will be in “alert” status the first year. If a Title 1 school is identified in the same subject area (Language Arts or Math) for two consecutive years, it moves to “program improvement” status, which requires the district to offer choice to families.

 

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This page was last modified April 30, 2012