NCLB - No Child Left Behind Act Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the No Child Left Behind Act, which of the following was a primary component used to determine if a school made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)?
- Teacher-to-student ratio
- Performance on standardized tests in reading and mathematics (Correct answer)
- Amount of parental involvement and PTA meeting attendance
- Per-pupil spending on extracurricular activities
Correct answer: Performance on standardized tests in reading and mathematics
NCLB's AYP measurement was primarily based on student performance on state-administered standardized tests in reading/language arts and mathematics. Schools, districts, and states were held accountable for this data.
Question 2: A Title I school fails to make AYP for two consecutive years. According to NCLB, what is the IMMEDIATE consequence for this school?
- The school must be closed and reopened as a charter school.
- All teaching staff at the school must be replaced.
- The school is identified as 'in need of improvement' and must offer students the option to transfer to a higher-performing public school in the district. (Correct answer)
- The school loses all of its federal Title I funding.
Correct answer: The school is identified as 'in need of improvement' and must offer students the option to transfer to a higher-performing public school in the district.
After failing to make AYP for two consecutive years, a Title I school was identified as 'in need of improvement.' A key consequence at this stage was the requirement to offer public school choice, allowing students to transfer to another public school in the district that had not been so identified.
Question 3: To make AYP, NCLB required that at least 95% of students in the school as a whole, and within each identified subgroup, must do what?
- Score at the 'proficient' or 'advanced' level.
- Participate in the state-mandated assessments. (Correct answer)
- Show a full year of academic growth.
- Graduate on time.
Correct answer: Participate in the state-mandated assessments.
A critical component of the AYP calculation was the 95% participation rate. For a school's results to be considered valid, at least 95% of the total student body and 95% of each significant subgroup had to take the state assessments in reading and math.
Question 4: Lincoln High School has not met its state's AYP target for proficiency in mathematics for the 'all students' group. However, it can still make AYP for that group through a provision known as:
- The 'Proficiency Waiver'
- The 'Subgroup Exemption Clause'
- The 'Safe Harbor' provision (Correct answer)
- The 'Academic Growth Exception'
Correct answer: The 'Safe Harbor' provision
The 'Safe Harbor' provision was a key flexibility option within NCLB. If a school or subgroup did not meet the state's annual proficiency target, it could still make AYP by reducing the percentage of students not scoring proficient by at least 10% from the previous year, while also meeting the state's other academic indicator (like graduation rate).
Question 5: Which of the following was NOT a required component for states when defining their AYP criteria under NCLB?
- A single accountability system for all public schools.
- An additional academic indicator, such as graduation rates for high schools.
- Accountability for the achievement of specific student subgroups.
- A requirement for all teachers to hold a Master's degree. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A requirement for all teachers to hold a Master's degree.
While NCLB did have requirements for teachers to be 'highly qualified,' it did not mandate that all teachers hold a Master's degree. The other options—a single accountability system, an additional academic indicator (like graduation rates), and subgroup accountability—were all core requirements of the AYP framework under NCLB.
Question 6: A middle school is evaluated for AYP. Besides meeting proficiency targets in reading and math for all subgroups, what other type of indicator was required for the school to make AYP?
- Student scores on a national standardized test.
- An additional academic indicator, such as attendance rates. (Correct answer)
- The percentage of students participating in after-school programs.
- Average class size across all core subjects.
Correct answer: An additional academic indicator, such as attendance rates.
NCLB required that AYP determinations include at least one other academic indicator besides test scores. For high schools, this had to be the graduation rate. For elementary and middle schools, states could choose another indicator, with attendance rates being a common choice.
NCLB - No Child Left Behind Act Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Questions and Answers
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, which of the following was a primary component used to determine if a school made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)?