Defining Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

The IASA defined adequately yearly progress (AYP):. "In a manner that 1) results in continuous and substantial yearly improvement of each school and local ... DefiningAdequateYearlyProgress(AYP) TheNoChildLeftBehind(NCLB)Act(NCLB,2002)buildsupontheaccountability provisionsintheImprovingAmerica'sSchoolsAct(IASA)of1994(IASA,1994), whichrequiredeachstatetoestablishchallengingcontentandperformance standardsandtoimplementassessmentsthatmeasurestudents'performanceagainst thosestandards(Goertz,2001).TheIASAdefinedadequatelyyearlyprogress (AYP): "Inamannerthat1)resultsincontinuousandsubstantialyearlyimprovement ofeachschoolandlocaleducationagencysufficienttoachievethegoalof allchildren…meetingthestate'sproficientandadvancedlevelsof achievement;[and]2)issufficientlyrigoroustoachievethegoalwithinan appropriatetimeframe(ascitedinElmore&Rothman,1999,p.85)"(Goertz, 2001). Goertz(2001)explainsthattheNCLBlegislationmakesseveralcriticalchanges totheIASAdefinitionforAYPandrequireseachstatetocreateitsowndefinition ofAYPwithintheparameterssetbyTitleI.NCLBstatesthateachstateis requiredtodefineAYPinamannerasfollows: "(i)Appliesthesamehighstandardsofacademicachievementtoallpublic elementaryschoolandsecondaryschoolstudentsintheState;(ii)isstatistically validandreliable;(iii)resultsincontinuousandsubstantialacademicimprovement forallstudents;(iv)measurestheprogressofpublicelementaryschools, secondaryschoolsandlocaleducationalagenciesandtheStatebasedprimarily ontheacademicassessments...(v)includesseparatemeasurableannualobjectives forcontinuousandsubstantialimprovementforeachofthefollowing:(I)The achievementofallpublicelementaryschoolandsecondaryschoolstudents. (II)Theachievementof—(aa)economicallydisadvantagedstudents;(bb) studentsfrommajorracialandethnicgroups;(cc)studentswithdisabilities; and(dd)studentswithlimitedEnglishproficiency"(NCLB,2002,Part A,Subpart1,Sec.1111,2[c]). AsaresultofNCLB,eachstatehasdevelopedaplanfortheminimumlevels ofimprovementinmeasurabletermsofstudentperformancethatlocaleducational agenciesmustachievewithinthegiventimeframesspecifiedbytheNCLBlegislation. Linn,Baker,andBetebenner(2002)explainexperts'concernsabouttheNCLB definitionandtimelinesforgettingstudentsandallsubgroupsofstudents tothe"proficient"standardandforidentifyingandsanctioning low-performingschoolsunderthefederaldefinitionofAYP.Ofparticularconcern arethevalidityandreliabilityofthetestsusedforhigh-stakesdecisions suchashighschoolgraduation,collegeentrance,ordeterminingtheconsequences ofNCLB'sAYPrequirement.Sampleerrorandnonpersistentfactorssuchasteacher turnoverorstrikesanddisruptivestudentcohortsarelargecontributorsto thevarianceinschool-buildingscoresfromoneyeartothenext(Cronbach, Linn,Brennan,&Haertel,1997;Linn,Baker,&Betebenner,2002).Hinging students'futureopportunitiesononestandardizedtestscore,whenthetest itselfisunalignedtocontentstandards,isacommonexampleofinappropriate testuse.High-stakesdecisionsneedtobefoundedonarobustdatasetabout students'achievements.Becausethestandards'movement,technology,andthe NCLBlegislationarespawningnewtestsatthestatelevel,testprecision isavitalconcern. TheEducationCommissionoftheStateshascreatedaninteractive, onlinedatabasethatcatalogseachstate'sstatuswithregardtotheNCLBrequirementsand allowsforinteractivesearchesandcomparisonsamongstatesaccordingto eachoftheaccountabilitycriteriaincludingthedefinitionofAYP. References Cronbach,L.J.,Linn,R.L.,Brennan,R.L.,&Haertel,E.H.(1997). Generalizabilityanalysisforperformanceassessmentsofstudentachievement orschooleffectiveness.EducationalandPsychologicalMeasurement,57, 373–399. Goertz,M.E.(2001,September).Thefederalroleindefining"adequate yearlyprogress:"Theflexibility/accountabilitytrade-off.Consortium forPolicyResearchinEducation.RetrievedSeptember6,2020,fromhttp://www.cpre.org/Publications/cep01.pdf ImprovingAmerica'sSchoolsActof1994,Pub.L.No.103-382.(1994).Retrieved September6,2020,fromhttp://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA/toc.html Linn,R.L.,Baker,E.L.,&Betebenner,D.W.(2002).Accountability systems:ImplicationsofrequirementsoftheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001.Educational Researcher,31(6),3–16.RetrievedSeptember6,2020,fromhttp://www.aera.net/uploadedFiles/Journals_and_Publications/Journals/Educational_Researcher/3106/3106_Linn.pdf NoChildLeftBehindActof2001,Pub.L.No.107-110,115Stat.1425.(2002). RetrievedSeptember6,2020,fromhttp://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02/   [email protected] Copyright©NorthCentralRegionalEducationalLaboratory.Allrights reserved. Disclaimerandcopyrightinformation.