Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

(noun)

A measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized tests. AYP has been identified as one of the sources of controversy surrounding George W. Bush administration's Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Related Terms

Examples of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the following topics:

  • The No Child Left Behind Act

    • NCLB expanded the federal role in public education through annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes.
    • Schools receiving Title I funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 must make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in test scores (each year, its fifth graders must do better on standardized tests than the previous year's fifth graders).
    • Missing AYP in the third year forces the school to offer free tutoring and other supplemental education services to struggling students.
    • A fifth year of failure results in planning to restructure the school; the plan is implemented if the school fails to hit its AYP targets for the sixth year in a row.
    • The yearly standardized tests are the main means of determining whether schools are living up to the standards that they are required to meet.

  • No Child Left Behind

    • NCLB expanded the federal role in public education through annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and changes in funding.
    • Schools which receive Title I funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 must make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in test scores (e.g. each year, the school's fifth graders must do better on standardized tests than the previous year's fifth graders).
    • Schools that miss AYP for a second consecutive year are publicly labeled as being "in need of improvement" and are required to develop a two-year improvement plan for the subject in which the school under-performing.
    • Missing AYP for a third year forces the school to offer free tutoring and other supplemental education services to struggling students.
    • A fifth year of failure results in planning to restructure the entire school; the plan is implemented if the school fails to hit its AYP targets for the sixth year in a row.

  • Compassionate Conservatism

    • NCLB expanded the federal role in public education through annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and changes in funding.
    • Schools that receive Title I funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 must make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in test scores (e.g. each year, the school's fifth graders must do better on standardized tests than the previous year's fifth graders).
    • Schools that miss AYP for a second consecutive year are publicly labeled as being "in need of improvement" and are required to develop a two-year improvement plan for the subject(s) in which they are under-performing.
    • Missing AYP for a third year forces the school to offer free tutoring and other supplemental education services to struggling students.
    • A fifth year of failure results in planning to restructure the entire school; the plan is implemented if the school fails to hit its AYP targets for the sixth year in a row.