 Three of Ten Ketchikan Schools Listed As Meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) August 20, 2003
Alaska Education Commissioner Roger Sampson today released a preliminary list of 283 schools statewide that did not meet all the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the most sweeping school reform legislation in our nation's history. There are a total of 488 Alaska public schools included in the Alaska Department of Education's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) calculations. The information released today by the Alaska Department of Education is based on Alaska student performance standards and student assessments in reading, writing and math. Sampson cautioned that the Preliminary AYP list reveals just part of the story about a school. Commissioner Sampson urged school officials, teachers, parents and communities to take a closer look at the results of their local schools to pinpoint where progress needs to be made and to see where schools are doing an excellent job. "We need to identify excellent schools in our state and show schools that need improvement how to succeed,' Sampson said. "There are many excellent schools in Alaska, some of which did not meet every AYP target, that have successes to share." Valley Park Elementary Title 1 school Ketchikan Charter School Title 1 school Ketchikan Correspondence Level 1 Title 1 school Ketchikan High School Level 1 Revilla Jr/Sr High School Level 1 Ketchikan Regional Youth Facility Level 1 Schoenbar Middle School Level 1 Title 1 school White Cliff Elementary School Level 1 Title 1 school Alaska's schools have a lot of work to do to fully meet the No Child Left Behind Act, Sampson said today at a statewide news conference originating in Anchorage. But schools are up to the task, he said. "The AYP list provides valuable information. Our job is to evaluate the data, see what needs to be done and do it." No Child Left Behind (NCLB), passed by Congress in January 2002, requires schools to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) with groups of students or be designated as needing improvement. Groups of students include: students with limited English proficiency; students with disabilities; economically disadvantaged students; African-Americans; Alaska Natives; American Indians; Asians; Hispanics; and Caucasians. There are a number of targets a school must meet.
There are 31 targets that a school must reach or the school does not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). A school can be on the list by not making AYP with as few as one group of students on one test or by not making AYP with all categories of students on both tests. This means NCLB does not allow schools to hide the performance of a single group of students in a school's average performance. The AYP targets are so rigorous that if all students in a school score proficient on tests, a school will not make AYP if 95% of the students in a school are not tested. Schools on the list for the first time are called Level 1 schools; for the second year, Level 2; for the third, Level 3; for the fourth, Level 4. Once a school has reached Level 2, the school must meet AYP targets for two consecutive years for the group for which it missed making the target in order to be removed from the list. Targets, called Annual Measurable Objectives by NCLB, increase over time. In 2013-2014, 100% of students in every group and school-wide must achieve proficiency on state tests, as depicted in the following table:
Commissioner Sampson said No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is important. "NCLB tells us whether every group of students is learning the basics in reading, writing and math," he said. "Some schools are teaching the basics very well; some of them are not. Schools need to be able to teach the basics before they can branch out and reach excellence in other
Sampson urged Alaskans to exercise caution when looking at the AYP list. "Making AYP isn't easy," he said. "In fact, it's very, very hard. There's one way to make AYP and many ways of not making it. We all need to be realistic about the list we are releasing today. The "all or nothing" nature of NCLB will be very difficult for many of our schools on a year by year basis, particularly schools that serve diverse student populations. A school may be doing a very good job as a whole but miss the mark for all but a few students. We need to look very closely at the results, analyze them carefully and target improvements to students and schools that are not measuring up to NCLB in every way." Sampson pointed out that NCLB is also important for further pinpointing achievement gaps between groups of students. By requiring groups of students to make AYP, NCLB does not allow a school's average test scores to mask problem areas. Different consequences apply to schools that receive federal Title I funding from those that do not receive Title I funding. However according to the Alaska Department of Education, all Level 1 schools need to inform parents about their AYP status, and develop and implement a plan for improvement. If a Title I school does not make AYP for two consecutive years, the school enters Title I school improvement status. In that case, parents will be given a choice, if practical, for their child to attend a different school in their district that made AYP, or the school must offer supplemental services to students. Requirements get progressively
more in depth for Level 3 and higher schools. Almost all the
schools on this year's statewide AYP list are Level 1 schools. A few facts about AYP:
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Source of News & AYP Information:
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