Adequate Yearly Progress

A cornerstone of the NCLB Act is setting high standards and holding schools and districts accountable for ensuring that every child achieves to those standards. Under the law, states define measures for each school and district to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward the goal of all their students meeting state standards by the 2013-14 school year. Schools and districts must demonstrate that each statistically significant subgroup of students: economically disadvantaged, English learners, students with disabilities, and students in major racial and ethnic subgroups meets its adequate yearly progress target. AYP targets are set for reading and mathematics (science will be added), 95% participation rates in state tests, high school graduation rates, and at least one additional indicator established by the state.

Guidance, Regulations, Legislation, and Announcements

Guidance

Non-Regulatory Guidance, Alternate Achievement Standards for Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities (Word)
Provides States with detailed information about how best to use and implement alternate achievement standards.

Non-Regulatory Guidance, LEA and School Improvement (PDF)
For specific information on adequate yearly progress, refer to sections A1-A9.

Peer Review Guidance for the NCLB Growth Model Pilot Applications (Word)

Secretary of Education Key Policy Letter on Addressing Accountability Provisions to Displaced Students of Hurricane Katrina and Rita (September 2005)

USDE: NCLB—A Road Map to State Implementation
This U.S. Department of Education publication is a user-friendly guide to help navigate the road ahead in education reform. It describes ways the Department—together with parents, educators and state and local policymakers—is making NCLB work for students and educators. The law sets the same requirements for all states, while recognizing that the paths they take to get there will vary. The road map breaks down a 670-page law into clear principles for success, and it recaps and frames how states have adapted those principles to raise student achievement. For specific information on adequate yearly progress, refer to pages 7-16.

Regulations

Final Regulation, Title I—Improving The Academic Achievement Of The Disadvantaged
For specific information on adequate yearly progress, refer to pages 71716-71719.