Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a framework established to assess the performance of public schools and school districts in the United States, primarily focusing on student achievement measured through standardized testing in subjects like language arts and mathematics. Introduced as part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1994, AYP gained prominence with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, which mandated that schools meet specific performance benchmarks each year. The AYP system evaluated schools based on overall student performance and included measures for various subgroups, such as racial minorities and economically disadvantaged students.
Schools were required to ensure that at least 95% of students participated in testing for the results to be deemed valid, and graduation rates were also a critical component in determining AYP. However, the system faced criticism over its stringent requirements and the pressure it placed on educational institutions, leading to widespread reports of school failures and declining morale. Over time, as challenges grew, the AYP framework lost political support, ultimately leading to its replacement in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act, which restored greater authority to states in setting educational standards. This transition reflects ongoing discussions about the best approaches to improve educational outcomes and address the diverse needs of students across the country.
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a system for measuring the success of public schools and school districts in the United States. The main basis for judgment in AYP is student performance, including test scores and graduation rates. The AYP system was implemented by the US federal government in 1994 but became most well known with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. Facing increasing criticism, an epidemic of school failures, and fading political support, No Child Left Behind and its AYP system remained part of the US educational system until 2015. At that time, No Child Left Behind was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act, which includes new systems for judging academic success.
Background
In the last half of the twentieth century, many studies of the US educational system pointed to signs of severe and increasing decline, largely in student performance. Schools and students in the United States fared poorly in comparison with those of many other nations, suggesting that the United States would begin to lose its international standing. Concerns and criticisms arose, suggesting that the US school system had become inefficient in meeting the needs of students.
Studies showed that, while the overall population of students was waning in performance, some subgroups faced particularly serious problems. Several large groups of US students were struggling academically and perhaps not receiving the needed materials, teacher attention, and effective instruction. These groups included minority students, students from lower-income backgrounds, and students in special education programs.
School, government, and community leaders debated these troubling findings. The roots of the country's dwindling academic power were unclear. Government leaders began crafting legislation to address the problem. They focused on improving student performance by monitoring and reforming schools through policies such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, first passed in 1965 and updated several times afterward.
In 1994, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was reauthorized. Part of the reauthorization involved adding a set of criteria and processes by which schools, school districts, and state educational structures may be evaluated. This system became known as Adequate Yearly Progress. At that time, AYP became part of federal law, although it went largely unnoticed by much of the public. However, in 2001, President George W. Bush signed into law a highly publicized education plan called the No Child Left Behind Act. This act was an updated and modified version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that brought the concept of Adequate Yearly Progress to the forefront.
Overview
The main purpose of Adequate Yearly Progress was to provide a means of measuring school success in every state, public school, and school district using the same criteria. The criteria included goals for special groups of students as well as the overall student population. Students from third grade through high school would take regular standardized tests in language arts and mathematics. Officials would compare the results of these tests with the results from previous years as well as with established goals to show progress or identify problems.
Determining AYP involved numerous elements. The most important factor was state testing of students, to occur on a regular basis. Test results in language arts and math would be reported separately. In addition, the results would be broken down by the categories of student subgroups—ethnic or racial background, economic status, familiarity with the English language, disability, and so on. At least 95 percent of the students in the school and in every major subgroup had to take the tests for the results to be considered valid evidence of Adequate Yearly Progress.
The second most important factor in determining the AYP of a school, district, or state was graduation rate. Schools were held accountable for achieving a certain level of graduation attainment across different student subgroups, and a lower graduation rate would indicate a lower overall AYP score. Although the program and its criteria originated in federal legislation, states had some leeway in modifying some of the details and could include other factors in determining AYP. Schools, states, and districts could also apply for federal assistance or lenience if they did not, or felt they could not, meet the demands of the system.
In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act established that schools and districts would be required to meet AYP goals each year and ultimately achieve total proficiency no later than 2014. Supporters of the system hoped it would inspire all educational institutions to improve and achieve higher standards until their students reached the levels of success outlined in federal guidelines.
However, the system also placed new and sometimes stressful demands on US schools, districts, and states. The program required states and schools to submit baseline goals for their students and propose plans as to how students could reach those goals and achieve proficiency by 2014. Schools, districts, and states that failed to meet those goals would face a rising scale of correction and, eventually, sanctions.
Many school officials felt that their schools or districts were disadvantaged due to such factors as poor funding, unqualified teachers, or high numbers of students whose performance was well below federal guidelines. Repeated failures to meet AYP led to lowered school morale, difficult and sometimes hurried or impractical changes, and confusion and concern in the public, all of which only contributed to recurring failures.
Large and increasing numbers of schools, including some previously considered high-performing, failed to meet AYP. Confusion and frustration mounted, and many schools and districts applied for special provisions to lessen their penalties, for fear of worsening their situations. The troubled No Child Left Behind system rapidly lost support. Some leaders attempted to revise the program, but eventually opted to replace it. In 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act, which essentially removed the AYP system and returned much control over educational standards to state governments.
Bibliography
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