The Minnesota State Department of Education (MDE) has released the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report cards for schools across the state. 1060 schools earned passing AYP grades in 2010; six less than in 2009.
AYP, as defined by MDE, requires that schools and districts meet targets on the accountability assessments in reading and mathematics tests to meet requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined by No Child Left Behind. Elementary schools must also meet targets for attendance and high schools must also meet targets for graduation. Districts must meet targets for acceptable performance in attendance and graduation as well as reading and mathematics. Information about student performance is combined across grade levels to determine if schools or districts meet full AYP requirements.
Of the 2,291 Minnesota schools earning an AYP status in 2010, 1060 schools made AYP compared to 1,066 in 2009. According to an MDE news release, there were 1048 schools that did not make AYP in 2010, which remained the same as in 2009. Currently, there are 342 Title I schools in need of improvement. The Yellow Medicine East district schools are among those 342 schools. Schools identified as Title I schools receive federal dollars and must provide additional options and services to students under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.
While the data shows that there is growth in math and reading proficiency statewide, the data does not translate into more districts meeting AYP. “I am encouraged that even as the percent of students required to meet proficiency is increasing each year, we are not seeing a corresponding increase in schools not meeting targets,” said MDE Commissioner Alice Seagren. “We need to continue our focus to help each and every child prepare for college and career success.”
AYP is a means of measuring, through standards and assessments, the achievement of the NCLB goal of 100 percent proficient by 2014. AYP is structured to ensure that all children have the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.
Schools that receive federal Title I dollars and are not making AYP two or more years in a row in the same subject are identified as being in need of improvement. Depending on the number of years they do not make AYP, schools in need of improvement must offer a range of options to students, including school choice with transportation, supplemental services and restructuring.
YME is one of the schools that receive federal Title I dollars and has not made AYP two or more years in a row in the same subject and is identified as being in need of improvement. YME, as part of their improvement plan, offers a range of options to students including supplemental services in reading and math.
