Adequate Yearly Progress - Education Week

Adequate yearly progress (AYP) is the measure by which schools, districts, and states are held accountable for student performance under Title I of the No ... Leadership Back Leadership Budget&Finance Equity&Diversity Families&theCommunity ProfessionalDevelopment Recruitment&Retention School&DistrictManagement SchoolClimate&Safety StudentAchievement StudentWell-Being Policy&Politics Back Policy&Politics PoliticsK-12 Accountability EducationFunding EveryStudentSucceedsAct Federal International Law&Courts SchoolChoice&Charters States Teaching&Learning Back Teaching&Learning Assessment College&WorkforceReadiness Curriculum EarlyChildhood English-LanguageLearners Mathematics Reading&Literacy Science SocialStudies SpecialEducation Standards Teaching TeacherPreparation TeachingProfession Technology Back Technology ClassroomTechnology Data Ed-TechPolicy FutureofWork ITInfrastructure ITManagement PersonalizedLearning Privacy&Security AllTopics Jobs Back Jobs SearchforJobs SignupforJobAlerts VirtualCareerFairs PostaJob CareerAdvice CareersatEdWeek Opinion Back Opinion OpinionBlogs SubmitanEssay SubmitaLettertotheEditor AboutUs Advertising&MarketingSolutions GroupSubscriptions RecruitmentAdvertising EventsandWebinars LeaderstoLearnFrom CurrentIssue SpecialReports Newsletters Resources Video EdWeekResearchCenter EdWeekTopSchoolJobs EdWeekMarketBrief Menu Search SignIn Subscribe AdequateYearlyProgress Subscribe Reset Search Leadership Policy&Politics Teaching&Learning Technology Opinion Jobs MarketBrief EveryStudentSucceedsAct Explainer AdequateYearlyProgress By EducationWeekStaff — September10,2004 |Updated:July18,2011 6minread Sharearticle Remove Savetofavorites Savetofavorites Print Email LinkedIn Twitter CopyURL Adequateyearlyprogress(AYP)isthemeasurebywhichschools,districts,andstatesareheldaccountableforstudentperformanceunderTitleIoftheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001(NCLB),thecurrentversionoftheElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct.AYP,however,isnotanewconcept;itwasintroducedintofederallawintheESEA’s1994reauthorization.UnderNCLB,AYPisusedtodetermineifschoolsaresuccessfullyeducatingtheirstudents.Thelawrequiresstatestouseasingleaccountabilitysystemforpublicschoolstodeterminewhetherallstudents,aswellasindividualsubgroupsofstudents,aremakingprogresstowardmeetingstateacademiccontentstandards.Thegoalistohaveallstudentsreachingproficientlevelsinreadingandmathby2014asmeasuredbyperformanceonstatetests.Progressonthosestandardsmustbetestedyearlyingrades3through8andinonegradeinhighschool.Theresultsarethencomparedtoprioryears,and,basedonstate-determinedAYPstandards,usedtodetermineiftheschoolhasmadeadequateprogresstowardstheproficiencygoal(DepartmentofEducation,2001).Accordingtothelaw,stateshavetheflexibilitytodefinethisyearlyprogress,butitmustincludethefollowingelements: Statetestsmustbetheprimaryfactorinthestate’smeasureofAYP,buttheuseofatleastoneotheracademicindicatorofschoolperformanceisrequired,andadditionalindicatorsarepermitted;Forsecondaryschools,theotheracademicindicatormustbethehighschoolgraduationrate;Statesmustsetabaselineformeasuringstudents’performancetowardthegoalof100percentproficiencybyspring2014.Thebaselineisbasedondatafromthe2001-02schoolyear;Statesmustalsocreatebenchmarksforhowstudentswillprogresseachyeartomeetthegoalof100percentproficiencybyspring2014;Astate’sAYPmustincludeseparatemeasuresforbothreading/languageartsandmath.Inaddition,themeasuresmustapplynotonlytostudentsonaverage,butalsotostudentsinsubgroups,includingeconomicallydisadvantagedstudents,studentswithdisabilities,English-languagelearners,African-Americanstudents,Asian-Americanstudents,Caucasianstudents,Hispanicstudents,andNativeAmericanstudents.TomakeAYP,atleast95percentofstudentsineachofthesubgroups,aswellas95percentofstudentsinaschoolasawhole,musttakethestatetests,andeachsubgroupofstudentsmustmeetorexceedthemeasurableannualobjectivessetbythestateforeachyear(DepartmentofEducation,2001). TheNoChildLeftBehindActrequiresstatestoholdschoolsanddistrictsaccountableformakingAYPtowardallstudentsreachingproficiency.IfaschoolordistrictfailstomakeAYPfortwoconsecutiveyears,itmustbeidentifiedforschoolimprovement.Whilestatesarerequiredtodeveloprewardsandsanctionsforallschools,thelawspecifiesanumberofconsequencesforthoseschoolsreceivingTitleIfunds,beginningwithnotifyingparentsofstudentswhoattendtheschoolinneedofimprovement,providingallstudentsintheidentifiedschoolwiththeoptiontotransfertoanotherpublicschoolwithinthedistrict,providing“supplementalservices,”suchastutoring,tostudentsattendinglow-performingschools,andprovidingassistancetotheschoolordistrictidentified.Additionalsanctionsareadded,includingorderingrestructuringoftheschool,ifaschoolidentifiedforimprovementcontinuouslyfailstomakeAYP.AsAYPrequirementshaveincreased,thenumberofschoolsfailingtomeetthoserequirementshasgrown.In2007,28percentofschoolsfailedtomakeAYP.By2011,thatnumberhadrisento38percent,andSecretaryofEducationArneDuncanwarnedthat82percentofschoolcouldbefailingtomeetAYPbytheendof2011ifCongressdidn’trewritethelaw(McNeil,April28,2011).Insomestates,schoolsconsideredhigh-performingbyothermeasureshavefailedtomakeAYP,causingconsiderablepublicconfusionandconcern.ThenumbersofschoolsnotmakingAYPvarygreatlyfromstatetostateforanumberofreasons,mostlypertainingtodifferencesinstates’testsandaccountabilitysystems(CenteronEducationPolicy,2011).BecausethepoliciesunderlyingwhichschoolsfailtomakeAYPvaryfromstatetostate,itisnotthereliableyardstickthatadvocateshadhopeditwouldbewhentheNCLBlawwaspassedin2001,notesJackJennings,presidentandCEOoftheCenteronEducationPolicy.Tokeeptheirschoolsfromfailing,somestatesbeganloweringtheircutoffscores,whichdeterminewhetherastudentisdeemed“proficient.”Otherstookadvantageofthe“safeharbor”provisionofthelaw,whichgivesschoolscreditformakingAYPiftheyseea10percentdeclineintheproportionofstudentswhoaren’tproficientwithinaparticularsubgroup,eveniftheyfailtomeetthatyear’starget.Meanwhile,otherstates,includingCaliforniaandIllinois,increasedtheirannualperformancetargetsandsawtheirfailureratesrise.InCalifornia,61percentofschoolsfailedtomakeAYPin2010,upfrom34percentin2006—anincreaseofnearly3,000schools.InIllinois,51percentofschoolsmissedtheirtargetsin2010,upfrom18percentin2006,andthenumberscouldhavebeenhigher,since15percentofthestate’sschoolsmadeAYPsolelybecauseofthelaw’ssafe-harborprovision(McNeil,April28,2011;CenteronEducationPolicy,2011). TheefforttoreauthorizetheElementaryandSecondaryEducationActpickedupin2011,withlawmakersinbothpartiesproposingaseriesofchangesanddebatinghowtomoreeffectivelyandfairlyholdschoolsaccountableforstudentprogress.UndertheObamaadministration’sproposedblueprintforreauthorizingESEA,therewouldstillbeaccountabilitymeasuresandconsequencesforfailure,butthe2014deadlinewouldessentiallygoaway,andstateswouldbeallowedmoreflexibilitytointerveneinstrugglingschools(McNeil,March14,2011).Inthestates,meanwhile,thereissomedebateastothewisdomorabilityofthefederalgovernmenttoholdschools,districts,andstatesaccountableforstudentachievementusingAYP(Joftuset.al.,2002;CenteronEducationPolicy,2011).Infact,severalstateshavevotedtoputtheirowneducationpoliciesaheadoftheNCLBandAYPstandards.InApril,2005,UtahGov.JonHuntsmanJr.,signedabillrequiringschoolstofirstandforemostfollowthestate’sU-PASStestingsystem,whichitselfhasAYPstandards,beforeconformingtoNCLBguidelines(Sack,2005).OtherstateshaverefusedtofollowpartsofNCLBorhaverequestedwaiversfrommeetingpartsofNCLBfromtheDepartmentofEducation(McNeil,April22,2011,July5,2011).Proponentsarguethatthefederalgovernmentmusttakeanaggressiveroletoraisestudentachievementoverallandtoclosethegapbetweengroupsofstudentsthattraditionallysucceedinschoolandthosethattendtostruggle.AYPproponentsinsistNCLBaddressesthisgoalbysettingconsistentgoalsforallschoolsandstudentsandbyensuringthatdistrictsandstatestakeresponsibilityforhelpingstrugglingschools(Wiener,2003).Critics,althoughnotarguingagainsttheintentofthelaw,havearguedthatthetesting,datasystems,andelementsneededtoimplementNCLBandAYPareexpensiveandthatthefederalgovernmentisnotpayingitsfairshareofthesecosts(Orfieldetal.,2004).Additionally,somecriticsarguethatachieving100percentproficiencyby2014willbeextremelydifficultandexpensive,ifnotimpossible,andsetsschoolsupforcertainfailure(Cronin,2004;CenteronEducationPolicy,2004).Havingallstudentsubgroupsuptopar—includingspecialeducationstudentsandEnglish-languagelearners—isofparticularconcern. EducationWeekStaff WorkpublishedunderthisbylinewascreatedbystaffmembersofEducationWeek. RelatedTags: NoChildLeftBehindAct SourcesCenteronEducationPolicy,“StatePolicyDifferencesGreatlyImpactAYPNumbers,”2011.Cronin,M.,“CriticsSaythe‘NoChild’ProgramIsaSetupforPublicSchoolFailure,”SaltLakeTribuneFeb.23,2004.McNeil,M.,“ProportionofSchoolsFallingShortonAYPRises,ReportSays,”EducationWeek,April28,2011.McNeil,M.,DuncanIssuesFarMoreNCLBWaiversThanPredecessors,”EducationWeek,April22,2011.McNeil,M.“AnNCLBShowdowninMontana?”EducationWeek,July5,2011.McNeil,M.,ObamaCallsforNCLBFix,WarnsAgainstEd.Cuts,”EducationWeek,March14,2011.Joftus,S.et.al,SchoolAdministrator’sGuidetoESEAFormulaGrants,2002.Keegan,L.,et.al.,“AdequateYearlyProgress:Results,notProcess,”inThomasB.FordhamFoundation(ed.),NoChildLeftBehind:WhatWillItTake?,paperspreparedforaconferencesponsoredbytheThomasB.FordhamInstitute,2002.Orfield,G.,et.al.,“InspiringVision,DisappointingResults:FourStudiesonImplementingtheNoChildLeftBehindAct,”TheCivilRightsProject,HarvardUniversity,2004.Wiener,R,“WhyDoweHaveAYP...andHowIsItWorking?”Washington,DC:TheEducationTrust.HowtoCiteThisArticleEducationWeekStaff.(2011,July18).AdequateYearlyProgress.EducationWeek.RetrievedMonthDay,Yearfromhttps://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/adequate-yearly-progress/2004/09 MostPopularStories Openimagecaption Closeimagecaption MaryHassdykforEducationWeek Equity&Diversity Explainer WhatIsCriticalRaceTheory,andWhyIsItUnderAttack? 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