Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is one of the cornerstones of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. It is a measure of year-to-year student achievement on statewide assessments.

How does a school or system make AYP?

To meet AYP, each school and system must meet the following criteria:

• 95% Participation: Each school, as a whole, and all student groups with at least 40 members must have a participation rate of 95% or above on selected state assessments in Reading/English Language Arts, and Mathematics.
• Annual Measurable Objective: Each school, as a whole, and each student group with at least 40 members must meet or exceed the State's Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) regarding the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced on State assessments in Reading/English Language Arts and Mathematics.
• Additional Indicator: Each school, as a whole and as subgroups, must meet the standard or show progress on an additional indicator.

In defining AYP, each state sets the minimum levels of improvements, based on student performance on state standardized tests, that school districts and schools must achieve within time frames specified in law in order to meet the 100% proficiency goal. These levels of improvement are known as Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO) to ensure that all student groups, schools, school districts, and the state as a whole reach this goal by 2013-2014.

Georgia's plan for AYP allows great flexibility in how schools can demonstrate MAO. There are four ways: 1) direct comparison of student performance; 2) confidence interval; 3) multiyear averaging, and 4) safe harbor. For more information on Annual Measurable Objectives please see the Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook.

AYP applies to all public schools and 181 school systems in Georgia, including Title I and non-Title I schools and schools with special populations.

How will AYP help ALL children learn?

In order to highlight the relative achievement levels of certain groups of students and hold schools accountable for closing any achievement gaps, NCLB requires every school, school system, and state to sort ("disaggregate") test results by the racial/ethnic category, disability, limited English proficiency, and socioeconomic status.

What tests will count towards AYP?

Georgia uses the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) as the AYP assessment tool for the elementary and middle school grades, the Enhanced Georgia High School Graduation Test (EGHSGT) for high school, and the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) for the most severely cognitively impaired students.

What happens if schools, or school systems do not make AYP?

Under NCLB, public schools and systems that do not make AYP in the first year face no consequences. However, the school system should develop/review its school system improvement plan.

Interventions begin at the end of the second year the school does not make AYP and increase in severity as long as a school does not make AYP. At this point the school or system is considered to be in Needs Improvement status.

If a school identified for consequences makes AYP for one year, then the school stays at the previous year's sanction. If a school makes AYP for two years in a row, the school is no longer identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring.

How does a school or system get out of Needs Improvement status?

Just as it takes two consecutive years of not making AYP to be identified for improvement under NCLB, it takes two consecutive years of making AYP for a school or system to move out of Needs Improvement status. If an identified school makes AYP for one year, it does not proceed to the next level of the school improvement (sanction) process (i.e., offering supplement services, implementing corrective action, or restructuring, depending on the school's status). If the school only makes AYP for one year and then fails to make AYP the next, it must continue implementing NCLB's school improvement consequences.

NCLB requires each state to develop a single statewide accountability system that includes all schools, which must include AYP determinations for all public schools and school systems in the state. NCLB further requires states to establish a system of rewards and consequences that applies to all schools and districts, including specific escalating consequences for schools not making AYP for consecutive years. For more information you can view the proposed State Board rule online through the GDOE e-Board portal. You can link to it from www.gadoe.org.

Consequences for Schools and Systems Not Making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

The 2002-2003 school year was the first in which all public schools in Georgia received AYP determinations. Previously the designations were reserved strictly for schools receiving federal Title I funds.

Under NCLB, local school systems and all public schools that do not meet AYP for two consecutive years in the same subject will receive various forms of assistance, intervention, and other actions, with consequences increasing each year the school or system remains in Needs Improvement status. A school is removed from Needs Improvement status by making AYP for two consecutive years.

Consequences for Schools

1 Year Not Meeting  AYP = No Consequences

No consequences under NCLB, but schools should use this information to identify areas that need attention and make necessary adjustments. If a school or system does not meet AYP in the same subject for two consecutive years, the school moves into Needs Improvement status.

2 Years Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Needs Improvement Year 1

• Public Notice: The school must notify parents of its Needs Improvement status.

• Public School Choice: Parents will have the option to transfer their children to a higher performing public school in the local system. Parents must be notified of this option. Priority for transportation costs must be given to the lowest-achieving, low-income students in that school.

• School Improvement Plan: Schools must identify the specific areas that need improvement and work with parents, teachers, and outside experts to develop a plan to raise student achievement.

3 Years Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Needs Improvement Year 2

• All Needs Improvement Year 1 Consequences in Addition to:

• Supplement Educational Services: Parents have the option of taking advantage of free tutoring and other supplemental educational services either from their school or from a state-approved outside group.

4 Years Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Needs Improvement Year 3

• All Needs Improvement Year 2 Consequences in Addition to:

• Identified for Corrective Action: School must make a fundamental change to help boost student achievement (This may include replacing some staff, providing additional professional development for teachers, appointing an outside expert to advise the school, extending the school year or school day, or restructuring the internal organizational arrangement for the school.)

5 Years Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Needs Improvement Year 4

• All Needs Improvement Year 3 Consequences in Addition to:

• Continued Implementation of Corrective Action Plan

• Identified for Restructuring: School must develop (but not yet implement) an "alternate governance" or restructuring plan that may include converting it to a charter school, replacing all/most of the staff, turning it over to a private management company, or any other major restructuring of the school's governance arrangement that makes fundamental reforms.

6 Years Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Needs Improvement Year 5

• All Needs Improvement Year 4 Consequences in Addition to:

• Implementation of Restructuring Plan: School must fully implement the "alternate governance" or restructuring plan developed in year 4 of Needs Improvement.

System Consequences

The 2004-2005 School Year will be the first in which school systems may find themselves in Needs Improvement status for not meeting AYP in the same subject for two years.  All school systems in Georgia received their first AYP determinations during the 2003-2004 school year. A system is removed from Needs Improvement status by making AYP for two consecutive years.

1 Year Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Not Yet in Needs Improvement

No consequences under NCLB, but systems should use this information to identify areas that need attention and make necessary adjustments. If a system does not meet AYP in the same subject for two consecutive years, the system moves into Needs Improvement status.

2 Years Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Needs Improvement Year 1

• Develop a System Improvement Plan: This plan must be produced within three months of being identified for Needs Improvement and must be approved by the Georgia Department of Education. It must be implemented no later than the beginning of the following school year.

3 Years Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Needs Improvement Year 2

• All Needs Improvement Year 1 Consequences in Addition to:

• Implement System Improvement Plan: If not previously implemented as outlined in Needs Improvement Year 1

4 Years Not Meeting AYP in the Same Subject = Needs Improvement Year 3

• All Needs Improvement Year 2 Consequences in Addition to:

• Continue Implementation of System Improvement Plan

• Develop a System Corrective Action Plan: Plan options must include at least one of the corrective actions defined in federal law, which may include major restructuring of the system's governance arrangement that makes fundamental reforms and has substantial promise of enabling the system to meet AYP. The plan must be developed within three months of being identified of Needs Improvement Year 3 status. It must also be approved by the Georgia Department of Education.