| FOR RELEASE: July 24, 2002 |
Contact: Melinda Malico, Dan Langan (202) 401-1576 |
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U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today outlined for state and local leaders the adequate yearly progress (AYP) provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). He provided the information in a letter to state and local education leaders throughout the country.
"Ensuring that schools are held accountable for all students meeting state standards is central to this bipartisan law's goal of ensuring that no child is left behind," said Paige. "Under this historic law, schools must measure and report on overall student performance and the achievement of various groups of students. With this level of diagnosis and the valuable information state and local leaders, parents and others will soon have, we can all work together to ensure that all students succeed and that the achievement gap is closed, once and for all." NCLB sets a new standard for measuring achievement-one with real consequences for schools that fail to make progress over time. Because NCLB requires that each child and each "sub-group" of children have their progress measured and reported annually, the new law will ensure that schools are held accountable for the achievement of all students. It will not be enough to measure just average student performance. Paige noted that the new law gives states and school districts significant flexibility in how they tailor resources and interventions to the needs of schools in need of improvement. "States do not have to start from square one; this law builds upon the accountability systems that states have been developing since, or before, the 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act," said Paige. "NCLB sets the minimum requirements for statewide accountability systems, and states will be able to build upon the new requirements to enhance their current systems." He also noted that the clarification letter reflects the input of state and local leaders, whose input was invaluable. The new definition of AYP will help states and districts accurately identify which schools need improvement and where they should focus their resources beginning in the 2003-04 school year. "By measuring the annual progress of schools and their students, states will know precisely which schools need improvement," said Under Secretary of Education Gene Hickok, whom Paige charged with leading the Department's implementation efforts. "This concrete and reliable information will help focus improvement efforts on under-performing schools-and will give parents of students in those schools new options to help their children learn." AYP refers to the growth needed in the proportion of students who achieve state standards of academic proficiency. Schools that receive federal Title I funds to improve learning among disadvantaged children and fail to make AYP for two years in a row are considered in need of improvement and face a range of consequences. Those consequences include offering parental choice of schools and transportation to better-performing schools, providing supplemental help to disadvantaged children and implementing various corrective actions. The criteria on which state accountability systems will be judged include:A single statewide accountability system that applies to all public schools and school districts, with assessments and accountability applied in the same manner for all schools.
All public school students are included in the state accountability system.
State definitions of AYP mirror state expectations for continuous and substantial growth in student achievement. All students are to reach proficiency in reading and math no later than 2013-2014. States' 2001-02 assessment data will be used as a baseline for the 12-year timeline.
States must make annual decisions about the progress of all public schools and districts. States may calculate AYP for a school using up to three consecutive years of data, but if a state chooses to average data over two or three years, it must still determine whether a school or district made AYP each year.
All public schools and districts will be held accountable for the achievement of individual subgroups, including students in major racial/ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged students, limited English proficient students and students with disabilities. Accountability decisions must be based on the achievement of each subgroup, as well as on overall achievement.
A state's definition of AYP is based primarily on the state's academic assessments. The definition of AYP must also include graduation rates for high schools and an additional indicator for middle and elementary schools.
AYP will be based on separate reading/language arts and math achievement objectives.
A state's accountability system must be statistically valid and reliable.
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For a school to make AYP, each subgroup and the school overall must make AYP, and the school must test at least 95 percent of students, including 95 percent of each subgroup. Schools must report all results by subgroup, but if the number of students in a group won't produce statistically reliable results, the state need not identify the school as not making AYP based on the subgroup results. States determine the minimum size for a group.
The Department expects to issue draft regulations in the very near future and also related guidance that will help states and school districts implement NCLB. Existing regulations and guidance may be viewed at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/asst.html.
For a complete copy of the clarification letter, visit http://www.ed.gov/News/Letters/020724.html.
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