AYP
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a school-level performance indicator prescribed by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The act aimed to improve the performance of U.S. schools by increasing the standards of accountability and providing parents more flexibility in choosing which schools their children attend based on information about performance. NCLB requires states to develop state standards and assessments to be given to all students in certain grades, if those states received federal funding for schools. Arizona participates in NCLB. This statute does not mandate national achievement standards or curricula; those are set by each individual state.
NCLB requires that every public school and district in a state, as well as the state itself, be evaluated on three measures: 1) Progress toward meeting the goal of 100% proficiency on state standards by the end of the 2013-14 school year; 2) Percentage of students assessed: 3) An additional measure of school performance. NCLB mandates that for high schools, this indicator be the graduation rate. States may select an alternative indicator for elementary schools. Arizona, along with many other states, has chosen attendance rate for the other indicator for elementary schools.
Arizona Department of Education.
http://www.ade.az.gov/azlearns/aypdeterminations.asp
In order to demonstrate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), a high school or high school district in Arizona must administer the AIMS test to 95% of its students, increase the percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards on the AIMS from the previous year, and report either a graduation rate higher than 70.5%, or a rate 1% higher than the previous year. Elementary schools and districts must meet the first two criteria listed above as well as report a 90% attendance rate, or 1% improvement in attendance over the preceding year. (Note: Data on Laveen Elementary District are pending for 2008-09, hence total percent "Yes" and "No" will not add to 100%)
Percent of Maricopa County Districts Making Adequate Yearly Progress
Visualization Notes:
The percentage of Maricopa County school districts meeting Adequate Yearly Progress jumped 21 points in 06-07, but fell 20.6 points the following year and has remained steady since.
Percent of Maricopa County Schools Making Adequate Yearly Progress
Visualization Notes:
The percentage of Maricopa County schools meeting AYP has increased four consecutive years. The overall increase during this time has been 18.8%.