What is AYP?
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is
the method used for measuring student progress in order that the state of New
Hampshire be in compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. It
is a measure of year-to-year student achievement through state assessments
(tests) administered in the previous year(s). According to NCLB, the state must
develop target starting goals for AYP and raise the bar in gradual increments so
100 percent of the students in the state are proficient on state assessments by
the 2013-14 school year. Annually the district as a whole is evaluated for AYP
as well as each individual school within the district.
AYP and Schools:
To make Adequate Yearly Progress, a school must meet performance targets (set by
the state) indicating student proficiency in both, Reading and Mathematics, as well as
targets in other areas including the student assessment participation rate,
attendance rate, and for the high school, graduation rate. Academic performance
of the school as a whole is measured as well as the performance of subgroups of
students, which are broken down by ethnicity, socioeconomic status,
educational disability, and non or limited English proficiency.
Schools not making AYP for two consecutive years in the same content area
(Reading or Mathematics) for the whole school or any single subgroup are
designated as a School in Need of Improvement (SINI).
AYP and Districts:
To calculate AYP for a school district, the student level data is aggregated by
two grade span groupings: elementary/middle (grades 3-8) and high
school. They are compared to targets in the content areas (Reading and
Mathematics) and the other academic indicator (attendance rate for
elementary/middle and graduation rate for high school). These targets are
established by the state in accordance with the federal NCLB Act. Districts not making AYP for two consecutive years in either of the same
content areas (Reading or Mathematics) for either grade span groups
(elementary/middle or high school) are generally identified as a District In
Need of Improvement (DINI).