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4 in 5 Meet AYP Guidelines
MIRS, January 13, 2005
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According to the
State Department of Education, nearly 80 percent of Michigan's
public school districts met the federal guidelines for making
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), as required by the federal No
Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
Based on the department's 2004 District AYP report, 431 of the
540 affected school districts (79.8 percent) met the
district-wide federal standards. Only 540 of the state's 828
local school districts, Public School Academies (charter
schools), and intermediate school districts received a District
AYP Report due to federal guidelines that waive this requirement
for small districts consisting of only a single building.
This is the first time District AYP Reports have been issued.
“This is very encouraging for our school districts,” said State
Board of Education President Kathleen N. STRAUS. “Eighty percent
is a good start. Naturally, we want all of our school districts
to meet and exceed our high, rigorous standards. We know a child
without a solid education today will become an adult without
much hope for a productive future.”
This is different than an AYP status for individual schools,
explained the state's Chief Academic Officer Dr. Jeremy HUGHES,
PhD., the NCLB requires that all students in a school district
be combined and calculated as a whole in determining whether the
district meets the required achievement, attendance, graduation,
and test-taking targets.
“Where individual school buildings have to meet 50 separate
federal criteria to make AYP, school districts have 83 separate
criteria,” Hughes noted. “That includes meeting the standards
district-wide at the elementary, middle, and high school levels,
as well as for the various racial, ethnic, and educational
groups abstracted by federal law.”
Hughes said that the same federal AYP criteria that individual
school buildings must meet also must be met by the entire
district - such as test scores in math and English Language
Arts; 95 percent of the students taking the state assessment
test; 85 percent attendance at the elementary and middle school
levels; and 80 percent graduation rate for high schools. The
difference, he said, is that all of the students in the district
are combined and figuratively considered to be in one big
school.
“The federal law wants to ensure that school districts are
meeting the standards at the building level and the entire
district,” Hughes said. “It's a tough standard when you combine
the district as a whole.”
“Michigan schools must continue to provide a quality education
for our students as we prepare to lead in the 21st Century
knowledge economy,” said State Superintendent of Public
Instruction Tom WATKINS. “Recognizing the many challenges our
school districts face today, we must continue to strive for
greater achievement rates, greater graduation rates, and greater
opportunities for all of our students. Special thanks go to the
hard working teachers in Michigan for the work they do to lift
up our children.”
Since this is the first time District AYP reports have been
calculated, no federal sanctions will be inflicted on school
districts not making AYP. It is only after two consecutive years
a school district does not make AYP that federal sanctions go
into effect. At that point, the district must develop a district
improvement plan that identifies actions to improve student
achievement and strategies for effective parental involvement,
and addresses professional development needs.
Of the 540 affected districts, 492 were traditional school
districts, 17 were charter school districts and 31 were
intermediate school districts. Of the traditional districts, 409
(or 83.1 percent) made AYP. Of the charter districts, 12 (or
70.6 percent) made AYP and of the intermediate school districts,
10 (or 32.3 percent) made AYP.
In response to the department news release, House Majority Whip
Brian PALMER (R-Romeo), who was House Education Committee Chair
last session, pointed out that an 80 percent success rate means
that 20 percent did not meet the standards.
“This is the first time that district-level AYP reports have
been calculated,” Palmer said. “We have one out of five school
districts not meeting the requirements set by the federal No
Child Left Behind Act. We must work together to help Michigan
school districts meet their goals. All of Michigan's kids
deserve a quality education.
Palmer said he believes Watkins is on the right track by calling
for structural changes in the way that educational services are
delivered.
“More money into the system will not solve the problem,” Palmer
said. “We need to address runaway retirement and health care
costs, as well as excess overhead and mandates to bring all of
our schools into compliance. Creative solutions such as
education flexibility contracts between local districts and the
department of education will help in this regard and I look
forward to working with Superintendent Watkins, the State Board
of Education, the Senate, the governor and the parents of
Michigan to address these problems.”
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