Many thanks to Dr. Judi Jones, Chief Accountability & Research Officer for her wonderful and comprehensive presentation on AYP!
Click here to download a copy of Dr. Jones' presentation: Download ELL Presentation February 2009
Some information to remember regarding AYP is outlined below.
- While AYP represents only a minimum standard of performance for your school, it is a VERY public standard.
- Whoever lives by test scores dies by test scores! Don’t get stuck here! Student performance is more than just minimum competency test scores.
AYP Requirements for ALL States:
- Participation
- Annual Measurable Objectives
- Second Indicator
Participation = 95% of all students enrolled in the school during the testing window participate in the assessments and 95% of students in each sub-group participate in the testing
Sub-groups = Ethnic groups and Program Groups (SWD, ESOL and Economically Disadvantaged)
Academic Performance Rules:
- Students must be continuously enrolled in the school (or district) from the October FTE count through the last day of the state testing window to be counted as a Full Academic Year student (FAY)
- Group must meet minimum group size to be counted
- More than one way to meet the required percentage
Minimum Group Size:
Sub group = 40 students
OR
10% of students enrolled in AYP grades (whichever is greater) with a 75 student cap
Academic Targets can be met via the following:
- Absolute Bar – meeting the required percentage outright
- Confidence Interval –statistical calculation used that provides more confidence in the data. (The critical z is 1.645)
- Multi-Year Average - average the number of students who were proficient or higher in 2007 + the number in 2006 + the number in 2005 and divide by the total number of students each of those three years
- Safe Harbor – reduce by 10% the number of students scoring in Level 1 from the previous year
Second Indicators:
For elementary and middle schools...
Attendance: 15% or less of students absent more than 15 days
(This indicator also applies to new high schools until the ninth grade class has completed all four years of the high school program.)
For high schools...
Graduation Rate:
- Graduation rate is based on the number of students who graduate with regular diplomas divided by the number of dropouts in 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grades + graduates+ other completers (special ed, certificate of attendance)
- Escalating rate between now and 2014
- Accurate records of student withdrawal are critical
Anticipated AYP Changes for 2008 - 2009 Year:
- Measuring the progress of ELL students becoming proficient in English and having AMAO targets
- Continued participation in Science testing
- Changes in consequences for not meeting AYP requirements (Differentiated Accountability System)
- Students who do not receive correct accommodations will have scores invalidated and they will count against the school/district
Things ESOL Teachers Can Do for the 2008 - 2009 School Year:
- Ensure that instruction follows required GPS every day
- Ensure accuracy of data
- Target your resources strategically
- Be sure students receive the correct accommodations for testing
- Monitor all testing (including Access)
- Celebrate small and large successes with your students, teachers, and community
