NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which criticism of NCLB's AYP system argued that the law created incentives for states to lower academic standards?
- The 'race to the top' critique
- 'Standards deflation' or 'dumbing down' critique (Correct answer)
- The 'opportunity gap' critique
- The 'teaching to the test' critique only
Correct answer: 'Standards deflation' or 'dumbing down' critique
Critics argued that because states set their own proficiency standards, some states lowered the bar to make AYP more achievable — a phenomenon called 'standards deflation.'
Question 2: What does it mean for a school to be in 'Year 1 of School Improvement' under NCLB?
- The school has missed AYP for one year and receives a warning
- The school has missed AYP for two consecutive years and must offer school choice (Correct answer)
- The school has missed AYP for three years and must take corrective action
- The school has missed AYP for four years and faces restructuring planning
Correct answer: The school has missed AYP for two consecutive years and must offer school choice
Year 1 of School Improvement is triggered after two consecutive years of missed AYP; the school must offer public school choice to enrolled students.
Question 3: Under NCLB, which academic subjects required statewide assessment for all students in grades 3–8 by 2007–2008?
- Reading, math, and science (Correct answer)
- Reading and math only
- Reading, math, social studies, and science
- Reading, math, and writing
Correct answer: Reading, math, and science
By 2007–2008 NCLB required annual testing in reading, math, and science (at least once each in grades 3–5, 6–9, and 10–12) to receive full Title I funding.
Question 4: What is a 'differentiated accountability' model as applied to NCLB waiver states?
- A model that holds charter schools to different standards than traditional public schools
- A model that applies different levels of intervention based on a school's performance level rather than a single AYP binary (Correct answer)
- A model that differentiates funding by student income level
- A model that uses different assessments for different grade levels
Correct answer: A model that applies different levels of intervention based on a school's performance level rather than a single AYP binary
Differentiated accountability, used in many NCLB waiver states, assigned schools to tiered categories (e.g., Priority, Focus, Reward) and applied interventions proportional to need rather than a pass/fail AYP label.
Question 5: Which law replaced NCLB and effectively ended the federal AYP requirement?
- Race to the Top Act
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (Correct answer)
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization
- Elementary and Secondary Education Improvement Act
Correct answer: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
The Every Student Succeeds Act, signed in December 2015, eliminated AYP and shifted accountability design authority back to the states.
Question 6: Under NCLB, what happened to AYP annual measurable objectives (AMOs) over time?
- They stayed constant from 2002 until the 2014 deadline
- They increased incrementally each year, with steeper increases closer to the 2014 deadline (Correct answer)
- They decreased after the first five years to allow struggling schools to catch up
- They were recalculated each year based on national average performance
Correct answer: They increased incrementally each year, with steeper increases closer to the 2014 deadline
AMOs were designed to 'staircase' upward, with larger jumps required in later years as the 100% proficiency deadline of 2013–2014 approached.
Question 7: Which aspect of AYP accountability was most frequently cited as causing the labeling of a majority of U.S. public schools as 'failing' by 2011?
- The requirement that teachers be highly qualified
- The all-subgroups rule combined with rising AMO targets (Correct answer)
- The 95% participation rate mandate
- The requirement to test students with disabilities
Correct answer: The all-subgroups rule combined with rising AMO targets
Because every subgroup had to meet steadily rising proficiency targets, and any single subgroup's failure meant the whole school missed AYP, the share of schools labeled as not making AYP grew rapidly.
NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) 5
Which criticism of NCLB's AYP system argued that the law created incentives for states to lower academic standards?