OVERVIEW
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ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS IN NORTH CAROLINA
- Introduction
- All Student Groups
- Target Goals
- Other Academic Indicator
- Safe Harbor
- Confidence Interval
- AYP Growth Measurement
- Title I Sanctions
- Recognition
- Assessments
- AYP for School Districts
- A National Perspective
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 are designed to tell whether schools, districts, and states are on track to meet that goal.
All public schools, in North Carolina and throughout the country, must measure and report Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as outlined in NCLB. AYP measures the yearly progress of different groups of students at the school, district, and state levels against a yearly target in reading and mathematics. There are both proficiency and participation targets. Proficiency target goals are set increasingly higher in three-year increments until 2013-14. Target goals increase in 2007-08, 2010-11 and finally in 2013-14 when 100 percent proficiency is expected.
Participation and proficiency in reading and mathematics end-of-grade assessments for grades 3-8 determine if elementary and middle schools make AYP. Proficiency and participation in Algebra I and a combination of the English I end-of-course assessments and the Grade 10 Writing Assessments determine AYP in mathematics and reading/language arts at the high school level. Alternate assessments are used for a small percentage of students.
AYP reporting involves many technical terms with very specific meanings as North Carolina implements NCLB federal law. These terms are defined in a glossary on the Web at: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/glossary.
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 as of the first day of Spring testing, even if the student is not counted in any other group. Some students are in only one group (School as a Whole) if they are part of a group represented by less than 40 students across the tested grades in a school or some students can be in as many as five groups. Some of the state's most at-risk students are represented in several student groups.
If just one student group in one subject (mathematics or reading) at a school does not meet the targeted proficiency goal, then the school does not make AYP for that year, with some exceptions.
Target Goals
For elementary and middle schools (grades 3-8) to make AYP, each student group in the tested grades must meet the following target goals:
- 95 percent participation rate in end-of-grade reading or alternate assessments;
- 95 percent participation rate in end-of-grade mathematics or alternate assessments;
- proficiency or above in end-of-grade reading or alternate assessments; and
- proficiency or above in end-of-grade mathematics or alternate assessments
- In addition, the School as a Whole must show progress on the Other Academic Indicator, which is attendance for schools in grades 3 to 8.
- 95 percent participation rate on the English I and Grade 10 writing or alternate assessments;
- 95 percent participation rate on the Algebra I or alternate assessments;
- proficiency or above on the English I and Grade 10 writing or alternate assessments; and
- proficiency or above on the Algebra I or alternate assessments.
- In addition, the School as a Whole must show progress on the Other Academic Indicator, which is the cohort graduation rate if the school graduates seniors and the attendance rate if it doesn’t.
Participation Rate
Schools must test at least 95 percent of students in each group. Participation rates for the past two or three years are 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.
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TARGET GOALS FOR ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS
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Other Academic Indicator
Schools must show progress on the Other Academic Indicator in order to make AYP. Attendance in elementary and middle schools, and the cohort graduation rate in high schools, are Other Academic Indicators in North Carolina. The cohort graduation rate, reported on the NC School Report Cards for the first time in 2006 as required by NCLB, reflects the percentage of ninth graders who graduated from high school four years later.
Progress is considered to be at least a .1 percentage point increase up to the 80 percent threshold for the cohort graduation rate and 90 percent for the attendance rate. Any fluctuations above the thresholds 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 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.) For school districts, both of the Other Academic Indicators are used.
Safe Harbor
Safe harbor is the first provisional status calculation applied if a student group meets the 95 percent participation rate but does not meet the proficiency target. That student group can meet its proficiency target with a safe harbor provision if:
- the student group has reduced the percent of students not proficient by at least 10 percent from the previous year for that subject area; and
- the group shows progress on the Other Academic Indicator.
Confidence Interval
For each student group, a 95 percent confidence interval, similar to a margin of error applied to polling data, is used around the percentages of students scoring proficient in reading and/or mathematics to determine whether target goals for AYP are met. This analysis is independent of the safe harbor calculations and cannot be combined with safe harbor for any one student group.
AYP Growth Standard
Beginning in 2005-06, AYP calculations include a way that schools and districts can be credited for academic growth shown by a student group not initially meeting its proficiency target goal. An AYP growth standard is applied to student groups that don’t initially meet target goals. Nonproficient students who are on track toward meeting the proficiency standards within four years of entering a tested grade in North Carolina, or by the end of 10th grade, can be counted as proficient. The AYP growth standard outlines predetermined incremental progress that students must demonstrate in order to be counted as “on track” and, therefore, proficient. If the percentage of nonproficient students on the set proficiency growth pathway and percentage of proficient students combine to meet the proficiency target goal, the group is considered to have met its target goal. This is analyzed after attempting to use safe harbor and the confidence interval.
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. See the chart below.
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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." This is the first year sanction for all schools in Title I School Improvement except for those participating in a national pilot program reversing the order of the first two years of sanctions. The pilot allows several North Carolina districts to offer supplemental educational services, or free tutoring, to economically disadvantaged students in the first year a school is in Title I School Improvement instead of public school choice options, the usual first-year sanction.
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.
If a Title I school does not make AYP in the same subject for three years, tutoring and other supplemental educational services must be made available to low-income students (those eligible for free or reduced-cost school lunch) while continuing to offer public school choice to all students. 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.
If a Title I school does not make AYP in the same subject for four years, it is identified for corrective action. The school must continue to offer public school choice and 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.
- 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 years, the alternate governance (restructuring) plan that was developed the previous year must be implemented.
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.
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.
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Recognition
Schools with 90 percent or more of their students performing at Achievement Level III and above and making AYP are designated as Honor Schools of Excellence.
School Status Labels
| 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* | |
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This Chart
*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.
Assessments
The NC Standard Course of Study, the state-adopted curriculum, defines what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. Assessments are aligned to the curriculum and measure student achievement toward the defined standards.
Participation and proficiency in reading and mathematics end-of-grade assessments for grades 3-8 determine if elementary and middle schools make AYP. Proficiency and participation in Algebra I and a combination of the English I end-of- course assessments and the Grade 10 Writing Assessments determine AYP in mathematics and reading/language arts at the high school level. Alternate assessments are available for a small percentage of students for all of these assessments.
Science Assessments for Grades 5 and 8
Science assessments for grades 5 and 8 were pilot tested in spring 2007 and will be fully operational in spring 2008. The assessments test the 2004 NC Standard Course of Study for science in grades 5 and 8 only. Science assessments must be conducted at least once in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12, to meet NCLB requirements. The NC end-of-course biology test already in place meets NCLB science testing requirements at the high school level. Currently, the science tests at grades 5 and 8 are not required to be included in AYP or ABCs calculations. Biology is included in ABCs calculations.
Assessments for Limited English Proficient Students
The state-identified language proficiency tests are administered to all language minority students (Grades K-12) at initial enrollment and annually to all students identified as limited English proficient. In 2005-06, the state began using a new proficiency test, which consists of four sections that assess the student’s reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Previously, the state-identified language proficiency test consisted of three sections that assess the student’s oral, reading and writing skills. The state-identified language proficiency tests are administered to all language minority students (Grades K-12) at initial enrollment and annually to all students identified as limited English proficient.
Assessments and Students With Disabilities
Students, including students with disabilities, are assessed either through standard test administration, standard test administration with accommodations/modifications, or state-designed alternate assessments.
Beginning for the 2006-07 school year, the US Department of Education (USED) has ruled that 2 percent of the students at the district level can use modified grade level academic achievement standards and take assessments based on alternate achievement standards and be considered proficient if they score Level III or IV on these assessments. These students are served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), but are not students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
Beginning in 2003-04, a 1 percent cap was set on the percentage of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities within a school district who could be held to alternate achievement standards and deemed proficient through alternate assessments.
The percentage caps don’t limit the number of students whose scores may be measured against alternate standards, but they do limit the number of Level III and IV scores that may be used to determine AYP. Scores measured against alternative standards that exceed set percentages are considered as nonproficient, unless an exception has been approved. The 1 and 2 percent cap rules interact in such a way that, in some districts, slightly more than 3 percent of students scores may be counted as proficient.
Alternate Assessments
North Carolina has developed alternate assessments to meet the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and NCLB. Parents of students who are administered these alternate assessments must be informed that their child’s achievement will be measured using the indicated assessment.
The North Carolina Checklist of Academic Standards (NCCLAS) is an alternate assessment based on grade-level achievement standards. The NCCLAS is an alternate assessment provided to some students with disabilities who are not able to access the standard end-of-grade or end-of-course assessments even with approved accommodations and to some students with limited English proficiency within their first two years in United States' schools.
The North Carolina EXTEND2 (NCEXTEND2) is an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards. NCEXTEND2 EOG is an on grade level assessment that serves as an alternate for end-of-grade reading and mathematics tests for grades 3-8, writing tests for grades 4 and 7, and science tests for grades 5 and 8. In addition, NCEXTEND2 tests are available for the Occupational Course of Study courses of Occupational Mathematics I, Occupational English I (Reading), and Life Skills Science I and II, and writing assessment for grade 10.
As an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards, NCEXTEND2 EOG is aligned to the NC Standard Course of Study grade-level academic content standards for the grade in which the student is enrolled.
To determine student participation in the NCEXTEND2 EOG, the following eligibility requirements must be considered. The student:- must have a current IEP;
- must not have a current 504 plan;
- must not be identified as having a significant cognitive disability;
- must not be receiving instruction in the NC Standard Course of Study through the essences/extensions; and
- the student’s progress in response to high quality instruction must be such that the student is not likely to achieve grade-level proficiency within the school year covered by the IEP;
- the student’s disability has precluded the student from achieving grade level proficiency, as demonstrated by objective evidence; and
- the nature of the student’s disability may require assessments that are different in design.
AYP for School Districts
School districts are held to the same proficiency target goals for students in reading and mathematics that are established for schools. AYP is determined for a school district by compiling the data for each student group and for the students as a whole in the district.
A school district enters Title I LEA Improvement by not meeting target goals in the same subject (reading or mathematics) in each of three grade spans (3-5, 6-8, and high school) for two years in a row. 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 3-5, 6-8, and high school. The 1 percent is based on students meeting the full academic year (140 day) requirement in each grade span.
All 115 districts in the state are Title I districts and, therefore, are eligible for sanctions if they do not meet AYP requirements. (Only about half of the schools in the state are Title I schools and, therefore, susceptible for sanctioning.)
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 will be counted at the district level, but not at the school level. It is possible for a district to not make AYP even though its individual schools do. Another different in district-level AYP calculations is that the cohort graduation rate and the attendance rate are calculated for the Other Academic Indicator.
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.
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 no 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 NCLB. North Carolina has had a strong school accountability system, the ABCs of Public Education, since 1996. 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.
NCLB is up for renewal in Congress in 2007 and AYP calculations, reporting and ramifications for schools and districts not making AYP is central in the debate about what a reauthorized version of the federal law might look like. More information on the reauthorization process, North Carolina's platform for changes to NCLB as proposed by the State Board of Education, answers to questions asked about the reauthorization process, and links to what's happening politically across the nation as the process moves forward can be accessed on the Web at: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/reauthorization/.
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