Have a question about the State Support Team or the school improvement process? Email us. We’ll answer your question and post it to our FAQs list. 

AYP FAQ’s

Q1.  What is AYP? 
A1.  Adequate Yearly Progress is a measure representing the federal mandate that holds schools accountable for the performance of all students and student subgroups.  The term AYP originated from the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

 
Q2.  What subjects and grades are reported for AYP?
A2.  Reading and Math in Grades 3-8 and once in HS (Ohio: Grade 10)

 
Q3. What subgroups are reported for AYP?
A3.  Economically Disadvantaged, Racial/Ethnic groups (African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Multi-racial, American Indian/ Native Alaskan, White), Students with Disabilities, Limited English Proficient.

 
Q4.  Who counts as a student with a disability for AYP?
A4. Any student reported in EMIS with a any disability type has the potential to be included in the students with disabilities subgroup (depending on their Where Kids Count IRN*). This includes, but is not limited to, students with speech and hearing conditions.

   *The Where Kids Count (WKC) rules determine which school and/or district a
    student’s test scores will count towards.

 
Q5.  The buildings in my district met AYP, but the district did not. How can this happen?
A5. AYP calculations are applied separately to each building within a district as well as the district itself. Building data is aggregated to make-up the district data. Therefore, it is not uncommon for one to meet AYP while the other does not.

 
Q6. Our district has a high mobility rate. How do we know which kids to test?
A6.  As a general rule, test every student. There are few exceptions to testing.  Participation rates are determined by the total number of students enrolled in the district during the March/May mathematics test administration. This includes students taking alternate assessments and is NOT based on “full academic year” criteria.

 
Q7.  Are any students with disabilities exempt from testing?
A7.  All students with disabilities will count regardless of disability condition. Some students may be exempt from taking the test because of a medical waiver, or because they are LEP students enrolled in US schools for the first time on or after the first day of school.

 
Q8.  Don’t students have to be enrolled 120 days in order for their test score to count?
A8.  There is no 120 day rule. When people refer to the “120 day rule” they are generally speaking about the Full Academic Year (FAY) rule or the entire set of Where Kids Count (WKC) rules that determines where a student’s test scores will count for accountability purposes.  Previously, the FAY rule states that a student must be enrolled continuously from the end of October count week to the May date for the mathematics test administration for grades 3-8 or the March mathematics administration for the OGT.

 
Q9.  What is School Improvement or District Improvement status?
A9.  Before the beginning of each school year, every district must annually identify any of its district schools failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two or more consecutive years. These schools are placed into School Improvement (SI) status. Districts that do not meet AYP for two or more consecutive years are placed into District Improvement (DI) status.

 
Q10.  What happens if a school or a district is in improvement status?
A10.  Title I eligible buildings must:

• Offer Public School Choice to all students;
• Offer Supplemental Educational Services (SES);
• Develop a 3-year school improvement plan within three months of being put into SI status;
• Spend not less than 10% of the building’s Title I funds on professional development;
• Promptly notify parents (in a language they can understand) and explain:
• What the identification means;
• How the school compares in terms of academic achievement to other schools in the district and the state;
• Reasons for the identification and what the school, district and state are doing to address the problem of low achievement;
• How the parents can become involved in addressing the academic issues that caused the school to be identified for school improvement;
• An explanation of the parent’s options to transfer the child.

 
Q11.  What is “Corrective Action”?
A11.  Corrective Action begins in “School Improvement Year 3” (AYP not met 4 consecutive years).  In addition to providing information listed above, the district must take corrective action through at least one of the following measures:

• Replace school staff relevant to the failure;
• Implement a new research-based curriculum;
• Significantly decrease management authority at the school level;
• Appoint an outside expert to advise the school in its progress;
• Extend the school year or school day for the school;
• Restructure the internal organizational structure of the school.

For “District Improvement Year 3”, Corrective Action must include at least one of the following:

• Defer programmatic funds or reduce administrative funds;
• Fully implement a new curriculum aligned to State academic content standards;
• Replace district personnel relevant to the failure to meet AYP;
• Remove particular schools from the jurisdiction of the district and establish alternative arrangements for public governance and supervision;
• Appoint, through ODE, a receiver or trustee to administer the affairs of the district in place of the superintendent and school board;
• Abolish or restructure the district;
• Authorize students to transfer from a school operated by the district to a higher-performing public school operated by another district

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