|
Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP)
The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that states
establish performance goals for all schools, districts, and the
state to ensure that all students reach 100% proficiency on state
assessments within the next 12 years. Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP) refers to the intermediate yearly goals that each state
must establish. Test scores will be analyzed yearly to determine
if a school, district and the state are reaching the intermediate
goals, or in other words, making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
Does
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) apply to all schools?
Yes. Every school is assessed to determine if it is making Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP), and AYP must be a part of the state accountability
plan. All schools must be subject to sanctions for not making
AYP; however, only Title 1 schools are subject to the federal
sanctions detailed in NCLB. Georgia law will detail the sanctions
that will apply to all schools (including Title 1 schools).
Which
assessments are used for AYP?
The calculation for AYP uses results of the Criterion-Referenced
Competency Tests (CRCTs) in grades 4, 6, and 8, the Georgia High
School Graduation Test (GHSGT), and the Georgia Alternative Assessment
(GAA) in reading/English/ language arts and mathematics. Beginning
with the 2003-2004 school year, CRCT results from grades 3, 5,
and 7 will also be included. Beginning with the 2007-2008 school
year, science will be included. Although all students are tested,
only students enrolled continuously in the same school since the
October FTE count will be used for school AYP determination. (The
FTE count is a Georgia Department of Education report detailing
student enrollment as of a specific date.)
Which
students are included in AYP?
The AYP definition requires that performance goals be established
for all students and for each of the following subgroups of students:
- race/ethnicity
(American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/ Pacific Islander, Black,
Hispanic, Multiracial, and White),
-
disability,
-
limited English proficiency (LEP), and
-
socioeconomic status.
Georgia
has elected to use the same performance goals for all subgroups.
A subgroup must have at least 40 students for its results to count
towards AYP determination.
How
does a school meet AYP?
To meet AYP, a school must meet these 3 requirements.
-
All students and each subgroup (at or above the minimum number
of 40 students) must have 95% participation on the assessments.
-
All students and each subgroup (at or above the minimum number
of 40 students) must meet or exceed the performance goals.
-
Each school must show progress on an additional academic indicator.
Secondary schools will be required to show progress on graduation
rates; elementary and middle schools will be required to show
progress on attendance rates for this year. Next year, school
districts will be allowed to choose the elementary/middle school
indicator from a Georgia DOE list of valid indicators.
The AYP performance goals initially will be set at the following
percentages:
-
CRCT Reading and English/language arts combined - 60% Meets
or Exceeds Standards
-
CRCT Mathematics - 50% Meets or Exceeds Standards
-
GHSGT English/language arts - 88% Pass or Pass Plus
-
GHSGT Mathematics - 81% Pass or Pass Plus
These percentages apply to all students and to each subgroup having
more than 40 students. The goals remain constant for 2 years,
then will rise every 3 years from 2004-2005 through 2009-10, and
then, annually, to 100% proficiency in 2013-2014.
If a group fails to meet the performance goals, the group may
still be able to make AYP by using the confidence interval, multi-year
averaging, or safe harbor methods. The confidence interval method
is a statistical test that minimizes the chance that the group
didn't make AYP due to chance. Multi-year averaging uses the current
year and the two previous years. If the three year average is
equal to or greater than the performance goal, the group makes
AYP.
The safe harbor provision requires that a group have a 10% reduction
in the number of students in the "Does Not Meet" category of the
CRCT or the "Fails" category of the GHSGT. The group must also
show progress in the academic indicator.
Are
there consequences for not meeting AYP?
If a Title 1 school fails to make AYP for two or more consecutive
years, it is placed on the Needs Improvement list and must offer
students the opportunity to transfer to a higher performing school
within the district. If a Title 1 school fails to make AYP for
three or more consecutive years, low-performing students in the
school are eligible for tutoring or supplemental educational services
with either the school or an outside provider. There are additional
federal consequences for Title 1 schools; Georgia law will define
the consequences applicable to non Title 1 schools.
Additional
Resources
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), Georgia Department of Education
Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook, US Department
of Education. This workbook presents Georgia's plan for defining
adequate yearly progress (AYP) as required by No Child Left Behind
(NCLB).
Questions and Answers on No Child Left Behind, US Department of
Education
The ABCs of "AYP", Raising Achievement for All Students, The Education
Trust |
