Federal Education Programs » No Child Left Behind » Adequate Yearly Progress

This report updates previous CEP research with data from the 2010-11 school year on the number of schools not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The estimated percentage of all U.S. schools not making AYP was 48% in 2011, an all-time high and an increase from 39% in 2010. The report also provides six years of trends in the percentage of schools in all 50 states, D.C., and the nation not making AYP, using official numbers from the State Consolidated Performance Reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.

This report updates the December, 2011 report “AYP Results for 2010-11” to include AYP data from school year 2010-11 for New York State. Several numbers throughout the report have changed as a result of the new data from New York. Most notably, the estimated percentage of all public schools in the nation that did not make AYP for 2011 has been revised from 48% to 49%, an all-time high and an increase from 39% in 2010. The report also provides six years of trends in the percentage of schools in all 50 states, D.C., and the nation not making AYP.

This report updates the May, 2012 report AYP Results for 2010-11 to include AYP data from the Consolidated State Performance Reports from the U.S. Department of Education. Several numbers have changed as a result of the new data. The estimated percentage of all public schools in the nation that did not make AYP for 2011 was 48%, an all-time high and an increase from 39% in 2010. The report also provides six years of trends in the percentage of schools in all 50 states, D.C., and the nation not making AYP.

This report analyzes trends over four years in the number of schools and school districts that did not make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in raising student achievement under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Using data from the Consolidated State Performance Reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Education by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, we calculated the percentage of schools and districts in the nation and in each state that did not make AYP based on testing in school years 2005-06 through 2008-09. An update to this report will be released early in 2011 and will include data from school year 2009-10.

Drawing on data from state departments of education and other public sources, this report estimates the number nd percentage of public schools that did not make adequate yearly progress. The report finds that approximately one-third of the nation’s public schools did not make AYP in school year 2008-09, although the number varied greatly by state. A table outlining the percentage of schools not making AYP by state is also included.

This report examines the interim objectives for student achievement established by states in their accountability plans for the No Child Left Behind Act. These objectives lay out the percentages of students that must score at or above the proficient level on state tests each year, on the way toward meeting the law's ultimate goal of 100% of students achieving proficiency by school year 2013-14. These annual objectives are used by states to determine whether schools and districts have made adequate yearly progress. CEP's analysis found that almost half of the states (23 states) have "backloaded" their trajectories for reaching 100% proficiency. In other words, they have called for smaller achievement gains in the earlier years of the trajectory and much steeper gains in later years, as 2014 grows nearer. Another 25 states and the District of Columbia have adopted a more incremental approach that assumes steadier progress toward the 100% goal. The two remaining states have blended trajectories that do not fit readily into the backloaded or incremental categories.

This reports describes states' flexibility in determining adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left behind Act.

This report updates previous CEP research to include data from the 2009-10 school year on the number of public schools not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act.  The percentage of schools not making AYP nationwide reached an all-time high of about 38% in 2010, marking a rise from the estimated 33% of public schools that failed to make AYP in 2009.  Accompanying this report is a background paper, State Policy Differences Greatly Impact AYP Numbers written by Wayne Riddle and Nancy Kober, which analyzes how the number of schools not making AYP has been influenced by changes in state testing policies and cut scores for proficiency on state tests, rising state achievement targets, the federal “safe harbor” provision, growth models, and other factors.