ABCs / AYP

ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS IN NORTH CAROLINA

• Introduction
• All Student Groups
• Testing
• Target Goals
• What's New
• "Regular" AYP
• "Safe Harbor" AYP
• Other Checks
• Title I Sanctions
• Recognition
• School Districts Are Responsible for Making AYP
• A National Perspective
• What it All Means

Introduction

The major goal of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is for all public school children to perform at grade level in reading and mathematics by the end of the 2013-14 school year. NCLB's accountability requirements, designed to tell whether schools, districts, and states are on track to meet that goal, have been incorporated into North Carolina's accountability system, the ABCs of Public Education.

All public schools, in North Carolina and throughout the country, must measure and report Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as outlined in NCLB. AYP is the minimum level of improvement that each student group within a school must achieve each year. Improvement is measured by statewide target goals set increasingly higher in three-year increments until 2013-14. North Carolina has defined statewide AYP target goals as a percentage of students in Grades 3-8 and Grade 10 expected to be at grade level in reading and mathematics each year. Reading and mathematics annual test results for Grades 3-8 and the Comprehensive Tests of Reading and Mathematics for Grade 10 results, attendance and dropout/graduation rate indicators, as well as other measures, are used to determine AYP. See the Accountability Web site at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/ for more information.

All Student Groups

Adequate Yearly Progress measures the yearly progress toward achieving grade level performance for each student group in reading and mathematics. Student groups are: 1) the School as a Whole; 2) White; 3) Black; 4) Hispanic; 5) Native American; 6) Asian; 7) Multiracial; 8) Economically Disadvantaged Students; 9) Limited English Proficient Students; and 10) Students With Disabilities. Most schools do not have all groups represented in their school. In North Carolina, economically disadvantaged students are defined as those eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Forty students or more across all tested grades in a school comprise a group. Scores are included in the schoolwide average for each student who meets the full academic year requirement of 140 days attendance, whether or not the student is counted in another group. A student can be in only one group (School as a Whole) if he/she is part of a group represented by less than 40 students across the tested grades in a school or a student can be in as many as five groups. Some of the state's most at-risk students are represented in several student groups. This is the law's intention and represents a challenge to each state.

If just one student group in one subject at a school does not meet the targeted proficiency goal with a confidence interval applied to account for sampling error, then the school does not make Adequate Yearly Progress for that year. Schools must test at least 95 percent of students in each group. For 2003-04, participation rates for the past two or three years will be averaged, depending upon how many years of data are available, whenever a school or group does not meet the 95 percent tested standard. If the school or any of the groups has less than an average of 95 percent participation, then the school doesn't make AYP.

All students are included in the statewide testing program. (Limited English proficient students who score below a certain standard on the reading section of the language proficiency test in their first year may be excluded. A limited English proficient student who has exited limited English proficiency services within the past two years is included in AYP calculations only if the group already meets the minimum number of 40 students for a group.)

Testing

Expecting students to be proficient in reading and mathematics simply means expecting students to be on grade level. Students demonstrate proficiency by earning a passing score on state achievement tests. Levels III and IV on our state tests indicate proficiency.

Reading and mathematics End-of-Grade tests for Grades 3-8 and the High School Comprehensive Tests of Reading and Mathematics for Grade 10 are used to assess student progress for AYP purposes. For Grades 3-8, these same test results determine schools' status in the ABCs. At the high school level, student performance on certain mandated End-of-Course tests determine schools' status in the ABCs. Student performance on the High School Comprehensive Tests of Reading and Mathematics for Grade 10 is not used for ABCs' calculations. Science assessments will be added for Grades 5 and 8 in spring 2008, but current U.S. Department of Education guidelines indicate those scores will not be a part of the AYP calculation.

Students, including students with disabilities, are assessed either through standard test administration, standard test administration with accommodations/modifications, or the state-designed alternate assessments [North Carolina Alternate Assessment Academic Inventory (NCAAAI) or the North Carolina Alternate Assessment Portfolio (NCAAP)]. The percentage of students held to alternate achievement standards and deemed proficient through the NCAAP and NCAAI (administered at least three years or more below students' assigned grade levels) may not exceed 1 percent. A district may request an exception to the 1 percent cap from the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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Target Goals

Target goals define the percentage of students expected to meet or exceed the state's proficient level of academic achievement each year. States cannot set separate target goals for different groups of students.

The 2004-05 school year marks the first target goal increase since goals were first set. Target goals change in three-year increments by approximately six percentage points in mathematics and eight percentage points in reading for Grades 3-8. The improvement rate for Grade 10 is a steeper climb to 100 percent proficiency by 2014. Other incremental increases will take effect in 2007-08; 2010-11; and finally in 2013-14.

North Carolina's target goals were set based on starting points derived from 2001-02, 2000-01 and 1999-2000 End-of-Grade test data for Grades 3-8 and from 2000-01, 1999-2000 and 1998-99 NC High School Comprehensive Tests of Reading and Mathematics data for Grade 10. (Note: The North Carolina High School Comprehensive Tests were administered in 2001-02 only in the high schools serving Title I students in Grades 10-12.)

Using these data, schools in the state were ranked from highest to lowest performing. Then, counting up from the bottom, the proficiency of the school at the 20th percentile of the state's student enrollment was used to determine the starting points for reading and mathematics in the respective grade spans.

As of 2004-05, target goals are as follows:

Grades 3-8 reading: 76.7 percent. This means that 76.7 percent of each student group, including the school as a whole, must be at or above grade level in reading.

Grades 3-8 mathematics: 81 percent. This means that 81 percent of each student group, including the school as a whole, must be at or above grade level in mathematics.

Grade 10 reading: 64 percent. This means that 64 percent of each student group, including the school as a whole, must be at or above grade level in reading.

Grade 10 mathematics: 66.2 percent. This means that 66.2 percent of each student group, including the school as a whole, must be at or above grade level in mathematics.

TARGET GOALS FOR ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS

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What's New?

We've been expecting student progress toward proficiency in reading and mathematics all along, haven't we? Isn't that what the ABCs is all about? Under North Carolina's ABCs of Public Education, which has been in place since 1996, individual schools are accountable for student performance as opposed to district accountability. Only 12 schools achieved Schools of Excellence recognition in 1996-97 compared to 473 in 2002-03. Schools of Excellence make Expected Growth or High Growth and have at least 90 percent of their students performing at or above grade level.

NCLB takes a different look at student performance. To avoid masking the results of at-risk students, the achievement of each group must be reported separately. If even one group in one subject does not meet the targeted proficiency goal with a confidence interval applied to account for sampling error, the school will not make AYP for that year. Some of the state's most at-risk students are represented in several student groups. This is the law's intention and represents a challenge to each state. What's new is how progress is analyzed and calculated.

"Regular" AYP

Under NCLB, a school and each group within a school is measured against state-established target goals of expected proficiency in reading and mathematics.

If each group within the school, including the school as a whole, meets or exceeds the mathematics and reading target goals, then the school makes AYP (if the school tested an average of at least 95 percent of the students in each group and the school overall showed progress on the Other Academic Indicator).

In North Carolina, the Other Academic Indicator is the attendance rate or the graduation rate of a school. Progress is considered to be at least .1 percentage point increase up to the 90 percent threshold. Any fluctuations above 90 percent for the attendance or the graduation rate will meet the requirement for progress.

For schools that have both elementary/middle grades and high school grades, the Other Academic Indicator is the graduation rate if the school has 12th grade and graduates seniors and attendance rate if the school does not. (There are special conditions that may apply when either of the grade spans has fewer than 40 students.)

"Safe Harbor" AYP

The safe harbor provision ensures that schools get credit for making significant year-to-year improvement, even if they miss the target goal. If a school's group(s) doesn't (don't) meet the target goal in a given year, the group (and as a result, the school) can still make AYP if it reduces the percent of students below proficient by at least 10 percent from the previous year and the group shows progress on the Other Academic Indicator. Schools can apply this safe harbor analysis to any and all group(s) of students that do not meet the target goal. Attendance and graduation rates will be disaggregated as necessary for applying safe harbor to student groups within the school.

Other Checks

There are several provisions in place to ensure that AYP determinations are as fair and accurate as possible.

Averaging participation rates: North Carolina will average participation rates for the past two or three years, depending on how many years of data are available, whenever a school does not meet the 95 percent participation standards for the current year. If the school or any of the student groups has less than an average of 95 percent participation, then the school doesn't make AYP.

Confidence interval: To determine whether target goals for AYP are met, a 95 percent confidence interval will be used around the percentages of students scoring proficient in reading and/or mathematics, effective with the 2003-04 school year. For schools that meet a target goal through application of the confidence interval, proficiency percentages will be reported with a note indicating that the confidence interval was applied.

Alternate AYP calculation methods for Title I targeted assistance schools: About half of North Carolina's public schools receive Title I funds. Title I provides additional resources for high poverty schools. There are two types of Title I schools -- schoolwide programs (SWP) and targeted assistance schools (TAS). Schoolwide programs are in schools that have at least 40 percent of their children on free or reduced lunch and go through a one-year planning process. Schoolwide programs have flexibility in using their Title I funds, in conjunction with other funds in the school, to upgrade the operation of the entire school. Targeted schools use Title I funds to focus on helping the students most at risk of academic failure on state assessments.

Title I Targeted Assistance Schools have options to determine AYP differently from other schools. They can select how to determine AYP using all students in the school, using students actually served in the TAS program, or using students eligible to be served in the TAS program. To select these options there are several procedures that must be followed.

1. Initially, the NCDPI will analyze AYP results for the school using all students in the school. If the school does not meet AYP, then the results for Title I served students will be analyzed. If the school again does not meet AYP, then the results for students eligible for Title I will be analyzed. These additional analyses are contingent upon the school "tagging" the appropriate students for the analyses. If the students are not "tagged," then that is the school's way of informing NCDPI that it is not interested in NCDPI's additional analyses.
2. Unless the school meets the minimum number of 40 students being served or eligible to be served, the results will be based on all students in the school.
3. If the school provides services in only one subject area, the school must determine if the results for AYP for each subject will be based on only the served students, only the eligible students or all of the students in the school.
4. The Other Academic Indicator can be calculated using all students in the school, students actually served in the TAS program or students eligible to be served in the TAS program unless safe harbor needs to be invoked. In that case, the same criteria must be used for comparison purposes (only those served or only those eligible). If this is not possible, then the Other Academic Indicator must be based on all students in the school.
5. For schools without tested grades, AYP can be determined by coding the students who were previously served or who will be served in the Title I program when they were/will be in a tested grade.

Minimum number of students for group accountability: Schools are only accountable for groups that are large enough to yield "statistically valid and reliable" data. North Carolina has set the minimum number of students required for group accountability at 40. Students who are part of a group with fewer than 40 students across the tested grades in the school will have their test scores counted under the "School as a Whole" category.

Only full-year students: Schools are only accountable for the performance of students who have been enrolled in the school for the full academic year. North Carolina defines that as 140 days as of the first day of testing.

Three-year incremental target goals: North Carolina's target goals are set in three-year increments so that educators have an opportunity to internalize the goal and so that data results will allow for yearly fluctuation. If one or more of a school's groups makes great gains in one year, only to fall back slightly in the next year, it still makes AYP as long as it stays at or above the state's target goal.

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Title I Sanctions

NCLB defines sanctions for all public schools with an emphasis on those schools receiving Title I funds that do not make AYP in the same subject for consecutive years. A Title I school that does not make AYP in the same subject for two consecutive years is designated as a Title I School Improvement school. The more years a school does not meet its AYP targets in the same subject, the more severe sanctions become.

No consequences apply to a school that misses AYP for one year. However, when a school finds out that it did not make AYP for the previous school year, the school can use this information to identify areas that need attention and make necessary adjustments. 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.

Title I schools that do not make AYP in the same subject for two or more consecutive years enter Title I School Improvement and must take certain steps. For instance, if a student group in a Title I school missed making AYP in reading for 2003-04, and that group or another group had missed making AYP in reading in 2002-03, then that school enters Title I School Improvement. See the chart below.

Title I School Improvement Timetable

SCHOOL'S STATUS	SANCTIONS/IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES
After Year 1 of not making AYP	None
After Year 2 of not making AYP in the same subject	Public School Choice Improvement Plan/Technical Assistance
After Year 3 of not making AYP in the same subject	Public School Choice Improvement Plan/Technical Assistance Supplemental Educational Services
After Year 4 of not making AYP in the same subject	Public School Choice Improvement Plan/Technical Assistance Supplemental Educational Services Corrective Action
After Year 5 of not making AYP in the same subject	Public School Choice Improvement Plan/Technical Assistance Supplemental Educational Services Corrective Action Plan for Restructuring
After Year 6 of not making AYP in the same subject	Public School Choice Improvement Plan/Technical Assistance Supplemental Educational Services Corrective Action Implement Restructuring Plan

NOTES: If a Title I School Improvement school makes AYP two consecutive years, it exits Title I School Improvement and is no longer subject to sanctions. Students who had exercised public school choice are allowed to stay at the school they transferred to, but Title I is no longer responsible for transportation.

If a school makes AYP in any one year after entering Title I School Improvement, it does not move to the next level of sanctions. But then if the same school does not make AYP the year after it made AYP, it moves to the next level of sanctions.

 

All Title I School Improvement schools are entitled to technical assistance from the state. If requested, a state assistance team will train and develop a local assistance team so that they in turn can train others in their school and district. Training focuses in such areas as: best teaching practices, data analysis, classroom management, cultural competency and curriculum alignment. In school systems or regions with a large number of schools in Title I School Improvement, regional training for principals in such areas as instructional monitoring and data analysis is available. A local assistance team training package can be provided for the central office instructional staff. Roundtables for superintendents and board members to look at policies and other issues are available as well.

If a Title I school does not make AYP in the same subject for two consecutive years, the school enters Title I School Improvement. Parents must be given the option to transfer their children to another school designated by the district that is not in Title I School Improvement and is not considered "Persistently Dangerous." Parents need to be notified of the school's status and choice options before the first day of the next school year and in such a manner that allows for reasonable time for parents to make informed decisions. Notification must be in a comprehensive, easy-to-understand format, and when possible, in a language the parents can understand. At a minimum, this notification must:

• Inform parents that their child is eligible to attend another public school due to the performance of their current school;
• Identify each public school that the parent can select from;
• Explain why the choices made available to them may have been limited; and
• Describe the performance and quality of those schools of choice.

A school district may provide additional information on the schools to which the student may transfer, such as a description of any special academic programs or facilities, the availability of before- or after-school programs, and the professional qualifications of teachers. In addition to mailing notices directly to parents, the district must provide information about choice options through broader means, including newspapers, posters and the Internet.

Although all students from the Title I School Improvement school are eligible, students who are the lowest performing and in the highest poverty have first priority when considering: 1) their first choice of school transfer options; and 2) who receives free transportation first, if such funds are limited. Some federal dollars to Title I schools are designated to pay for public school choice transportation.

Visit the School Choice/ Supplemental Educational Services page for more information on public school choice. Sample parent letters related to public school choice are at this Web site under "Sample Materials."

If a Title I school does not make AYP in the same subject for three consecutive years, tutoring and other supplemental educational services must be made available to low-income students (those eligible for free or reduced-cost school lunch). Services are offered outside the regular school day at a student's school or another location. In most cases, service providers are paid directly by the district from federal Title I money designated for supplemental educational services. (Districts are not required to provide transportation to and from service providers.) Services focus on literacy and math skills. Hours and content vary by program funding and student needs. Title I schools must offer supplemental educational services the entire time they remain in Title I School Improvement, with the exception of the first year. Note that this sanction is available only to eligible students, whereas, all students in a school are eligible for public school choice.

Parents of eligible students should receive a notice regarding supplemental educational services by the beginning of the school year. The notice should be easy to understand and, when possible, in a language the parents understand. The notice should include a list of the state-approved providers in the area and a description of their services. School personnel must assist parents who request help in making a decision regarding which service provider best meets their child's needs. After parents indicate their choice of service provider, the school enters into an agreement with the service provider.

Parents may waive the right for their child to receive supplemental services. In this case, parents may be asked to sign a waiver form stating that they decline the services on behalf of their child.

For more information on supplemental educational services, visit the "Overview" section of the School Choice/Supplemental Educational Services page. Sample parent letters related to supplemental educational services are at this Web site under "Sample Material."

If a Title I school does not make AYP in the same subject for four consecutive years, it is identified for corrective action. The school must continue to offer supplemental educational services and begin implementing at least one, but not necessarily all, of the following corrective actions:

• Replace the school staff responsible for the lack of progress.
• Institute a new curriculum, including appropriate professional development.
• "Significantly decrease management authority" at the school level.
• Appoint an outside expert to advise the school.
• Extend the school year or the school day for the school.
• Restructure the school's internal organizational structure.

If a Title I school does not make AYP in the same subject for five consecutive years, the school must continue corrective action, offering supplemental educational services and develop an alternate governance plan, which must include one of the following:

• Reopen the school as a public charter school.
• Replace all or most of the staff responsible for the lack of progress.
• Enter into a contract with a private company to operate the school.
• Turn over operation and management of the school to the state.
• Implement other fundamental reforms approved by the state.

If a Title I school does not make AYP in the same subject for six consecutive years, the alternate governance plan that was developed the previous year must be implemented.

Just as it takes two consecutive years of not making AYP in the same subject to be identified for improvement under NCLB's accountability system, it takes two consecutive years of making AYP for a school to exit Title I School Improvement status. If an identified school makes AYP for one year, it stays at the same level of the School Improvement process. For instance, if a Title I School Improvement school in its first year of sanctions makes AYP, the next year it would still be a Title I School Improvement school, but would not move to the next level where supplemental educational services must be offered. If the school makes AYP for a second consecutive year, it is no longer identified as needing improvement. If the school only makes AYP for one year and then does not make AYP in the same subject the next, it must continue in NCLB's School Improvement process.

While the parental notification requirement is the same for charter schools as it is for other public schools, the "transfer" provision is different for a charter school. A Title I school that has not made AYP in the same subject for two consecutive years must notify parents of the school's Title I School Improvement status, but does not need to provide parents with other school options beyond the choice to return to their local district school(s). North Carolina charter schools are, by definition, schools of choice as students are not "assigned" to attend a charter school. Rather, parents and/or students choose to attend a charter school instead of their district offering(s). At any time, regardless of whether a charter school has made AYP or not, parents and/or students can choose to return to their district school.

NCLB also requires that a Title I School Improvement school set aside a percentage of its Title I funds to pay for the costs associated with transporting students to a school that has made AYP. Because the intent of this provision is to ensure that students have options to attend high-performing public schools, it is not applicable to charter schools as they are schools of choice. Thus, a charter school that is in Title I School Improvement is not required to set aside funds for transporting students to other schools.

Non-Title I schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years due to missing one or more targets in the same subject area, (e.g., reading) are required to amend their School Improvement Plan to address the situation. The purpose of the School Improvement Plan is to establish annual, measurable goals and overall improvement objectives (related especially to achievement of AYP), analyze why the school has not yet achieved its goals, and describe what strategies the school will use to improve performance.

Recognition

The State Board of Education made changes to the ABCs recognition categories to incorporate Adequate Yearly Progress starting with the 2003-04 school year. Schools with 90 percent or more of their students performing at Achievement Level III and above and making AYP will be designated as Honor Schools of Excellence. The priority school designation will change to 60 to 69 percent proficiency in 2004-05. At that point, less than 60 percent proficiency will be low performing for schools making less than Expected Growth.

School Status Labels for Labels for 2003-04

PERFORMANCE LEVEL Based on Percent of Students' Scores at or Above Achievement Level III	ACADEMIC GROWTH
	Schools Making Expected Growth or High Growth		Schools Making Less than Expected Growth
90% to 100%	Met AYP	Honor Schools of Excellence	No Recognition
	AYP Not Met	Schools of Excellence
80% to 89%	Schools of Distinction
60% to 79%	Schools of Progress
50% to 59%	Priority Schools
Less than 50%	Priority Schools		Low-Performing*

*The term "low performing" applies to a school that does not meet the expected growth standard and less than 50% of its students are performing at or above Achievement Level III.

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School Districts Are Responsible for Making Adequate Yearly Progress

School districts are held to the same target goals for students in reading and mathematics as are established for schools. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is determined for a school district by compiling the data for each student group. The minimum N count used in determining the AYP status of school districts is 40, or 1 percent of the tested students, whichever is greater. This minimum N is applied in each district to grades 3 through 8 as a group and to high school as a group.

School-based AYP proficiency statistics cannot be combined in order to compute the AYP proficiency statistics for the district. In some cases, a student group will be under 40 at the school level and so will not count as a separate group until compiled at the district level. Another example of how calculations differ at the district level is a federal requirement to count students who have been in the district for at least 140 days (full academic year), even though they may not have been in a single school within that district for 140 days. This means some students would be counted for AYP proficiency at the district level, but not at the school level. Thus, it is possible for a district to not make AYP even though its individual schools do.

In order for a district to enter Title I District Improvement, the district must not make AYP in the same subject in both the 3-8 and high school grade spans for two consecutive years. All 115 of North Carolina's school districts receive Title I money.

Parents need to be notified if the district has been identified for Title I District Improvement before the first day of the next school year. Notification must be in a comprehensive, easy-to-understand format, and when possible, in a language the parents can understand. Sample parent notification letters regarding Title I District Improvement can be downloaded from: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/abcayp/ under "Sample Material."

In the first two years of Title I District Improvement, the district must receive Technical Assistance from the state and must design and implement a plan that:

• Incorporates scientifically-based strategies;
• Identifies actions that have the greatest likelihood of improving achievement;
• Addresses the professional needs of instructional staff, including spending a minimum of 10 percent for professional development annually;
• Includes measurable objectives consistent with AYP;
• Addresses fundamental teaching and learning needs in the district's schools, specifically the needs of low-achieving students;
• Determines why prior plans failed to improve achievement;
• Incorporates extended-time learning activities;
• Specifies State Educational Agency and district responsibilities, including technical assistance; and
• Informs parents of the district's status and identifies strategies for effective parental involvement.

In the third year of Title I District Improvement, the state must take corrective action by: deferring program funds or reducing administrative funds; instituting a new curriculum; replacing personnel; removing particular schools from the district's jurisdiction and establishing alternative governance arrangements; appointing a receiver in place of the superintendent and school board; abolishing or restructuring the district; and authorizing students to transfer to a high-performance public school in another district.

A National Perspective

When considering information regarding AYP across our nation, it's important to keep in mind that each state has its own tests used to determine student achievement. There is not a national test. The rigor of state tests varies widely. Some states did not have a statewide curriculum, statewide testing programs or public reporting until responding to the new federal law. North Carolina has had a strong school accountability system in place since 1996, the ABCs of Public Education. Our state has had statewide curriculum standards and statewide testing programs and reporting on those results since 1989. Each state also has its own starting points and target goals used to measure what percentage of its students are and should be proficient.

What It All Means

Standards are only meaningful if they are used to measure learning, to set clear goals, to identify schools that need to improve, and to focus additional energy and resources on the schools and students that have the farthest to go.
A school that does not make Adequate Yearly Progress is not a failure. Saying that a school is "in need of improvement" is far different from saying that it is failing. Most schools have room to improve. Some Schools of Excellence and Schools of Distinction under the ABCs system do not make Adequate Yearly Progress. The ABCs looks at the school as a whole and at the growth of the same students over time. Adequate Yearly Progress is measured by groups of students meeting set target goals. Some schools have particular groups of students not performing at grade level even though students are making progress and the schools' schoolwide results are high. Using these different sets of criteria leads to different results that may seem to be contradictory. Both the ABCs and AYP information can be used to focus school improvement efforts.