Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

What is Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)? As a condition of receiving federal funds under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), all states are required to define a process for identifying groups of students, schools, districts and the state as being in need of improvement. This requirement is called adequate yearly progress or AYP. Federal accountability under No Child Left Behind looks at the performance of groups of students: All students, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, white not Hispanic, black not Hispanic, Hispanic, students receiving special education services, learning English for the first time and students eligible for free or reduced priced meals.

How is Adequate Yearly Progress determined? The performance of all students and groups of students, who have been enrolled in a district for a full academic year, must equal or exceed the state goal in reading (NeSA-R) and math (NeSA-M), and At least 95% of all students must participate in the assessments, and The school and district must meet or demonstrate progress toward meeting a state goal for one other indicator for elementary and middle schools (NeSA- Writing) and a State goal for a graduation rate at the high school level.

AYP and “Need of Improvement” To make Federal AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress), schools and districts must meet all target goals in all areas. NCLB also requires progress to be measured over two consecutive years. If the school has not met the target goals in the same subject and grade level for both years, the school is identified as being in “need of improvement.”

New AYP Mathematics Goals ElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh School %50 %41 % % 61 % %83 %80 % %

New AYP Reading Goals ElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh School %70%68% %80%79% %90%89% %

What does it mean if a school doesn’t make AYP in No Child Left Behind? AYP is one indicator of a school or district’s performance. It focuses solely on whether any group of students is meeting the expectations for growth. A school will be able to identify and address the instruction and services for that group of students not meeting the state goals for adequate yearly progress. AYP does NOT mean a “failing school,” but it does mean that schools must address the needs of the group of students or subject area that is not showing progress.

What happens to schools and districts that do not make AYP? The NCLB consequences for not making AYP targets apply only to schools and districts that have Title I programs. The federal law prescribes graduated sanctions for Title I schools beginning with the second consecutive year of not making AYP.

School Improvement Consequences Any building identified for Title I school improvement must: Notify parents of all students that the school has been identified for Title I School Improvement and what caused the identification. Provide students the option to transfer to a building not in School Improvement. o The district must spend the equivalent of 20% of Title I allocations on choice-related transportation, or a lesser amount that satisfies the demands from parents of eligible students. Spend, from any source, funds equal to 10% of the Title I building allocation on professional development. Include parents, school staff, district staff, and other experts in developing or revising a 2-year plan which specifically addresses how funds will be remove the school from school improvement status.

LINCOLN HEIGHTS READING

LONGFELLOW MATH

BLUFFS MIDDLE SCHOOL READING

BLUFFS MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH

SCOTTSBLUFF HIGH SCHOOL MATH

SCOTTSBLUFF HIGH SCHOOL READING

The Challenge The challenge for all schools is to use the results to show improvement over time in all groups of students. Scottsbluff Public Schools has begun and will continue the process of continuous improvement to address areas of low student performance.

HOW DO WE REACH OUR GOALS? We must ensure our students have the opportunity to learn the tested indicators. o All teachers must be knowledgeable about the state standards and indicators. o All teachers must align classroom instruction with the state standards and indicators by using the district learning guides. o All students should have access to grade level curriculum with support if needed.

HOW DO WE REACH OUR GOALS? (Continued) We must frequently check to see how the students are performing on the indicators. o All teachers must be involved in the development and implementation of common formative assessments. We must reteach the indicators if necessary. o All teachers must provide opportunities for reteaching for students that are not proficient on common formative assessments of indicators.

Questions?