Report Finds NCLB's "Adequate Yearly Progress" Useful; Urges Further Action

A recent report released by the Education Trust suggests that the "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) requirement of the "No Child Left Behind Act" provides useful and important information to school districts and the public across the nation. "What New 'AYP' Information Tells Us About Schools, States, and Public Education" concludes that requiring districts to measure and report AYP holds schools "accountable" and helps provide accurate and much-needed information about student performance.

The report stresses the benefits of the AYP requirement, such as:

detecting overwhelming achievement gaps, suggesting that low-income and minority students are not provided with the resources necessary to fulfill state standards;

identifying schools that provide all student groups (to the extent those groups are present in the schools) with an adequate education;

acknowledging the positive progress of traditionally low-performing schools; and

recognizing the improvement of schools "previously designated as needing improvement" and the ability to move off of the list of schools not reaching AYP targets.

When states released their AYP results this summer and fall, many members of the education community were concerned about differences in the number of schools not reaching AYP among the states. The report suggests numerous reasons for these differences, including:

Varying achievement gaps

Different percentages of students participating in the required assessments

Differences in the minimum number of students required to be counted as a separate testing category

A diverse range of grades tested

Statistical significance tests

Differences in location and distribution of students performing below grade level across states.

The report claims that differences in state standards will not affect the number of schools not reaching AYP goals.

The AYP requirement of the NCLB has raised awareness of the problems and successes of the nation's schools, yet, as the report urges a, "[. . .] move from awareness to action must take place on a large scale if we're to meet the challenge of providing a truly high-quality education to all students."

See also "The Funding Gap: Low-Income and Minority Students Still Receive Fewer Dollars in Many States," a report released by the Education Trust which highlights the funding gaps between schools with relatively few minorities and those that educate many minority and low-income students.

Prepared October 30, 2003