Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP) is the accountability component of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Under NCLB, states are required to establish a definition of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) that each district and school is expected to meet.Schools that do not make adequate yearly progress will be identified for increasingly rigorous sanctions designed to bring about meaningful change in instruction and performance. Further, students in low-performing schools will have the option to transfer to other public schools or to obtain supplemental educational services. Finally, the law mandates the fundamental restructuring of any school that fails to improve over an extended period of time.
Annual targets are set by the state to measure progress of all schools and districts toward the goal that all students–including low-income students, students from major racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency–reach 100 percent proficiency in reading and math by 2013–2014. In addition to academic performance,schools must test at least 95 percent of their students in each of the above student groups in reading and math and meet an approved target on one other non-academic measure. In Texas, the non-academic indicator is the four-year longitudinal graduation rate for high schools and the annual attendance rate for elementary and middle schools. In short, the three AYP indicators are reading/English language arts; mathematics; and high school graduation rate/elementary and middle school attendance rate. Both subject indicators have two components: student performance and participation. The criteria must be achieved on both components to meet the indicator. . Ratings given are "Met AYP" or "Needs Improvement".