(FRANKFORT, Ky.) -- Data released today indicate that 60.1 percent of Kentucky's public schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the Kentucky Department of Education announced.
In Kentucky, 702 public schools met 100 percent of their NCLB goals for AYP, while 470 schools did not. Those 470 schools may be subject to federal consequences in 2004, depending on their performance.
Currently, 25 Kentucky schools are implementing the second tier of consequences under NCLB, which include offering school choice, revising their school improvement plans and offering supplemental services.
"The AYP provisions of NCLB are complicated," said Kentucky Education Commissioner Gene Wilhoit. "Some schools met or exceeded their AYP targets. Some schools came very close and met most of their goals. Some fell far short.
"Reporting achievement by student groups will be eye-opening for many people. The federal mandates of NCLB tend to paint schools and districts with a broad brush, giving only a thumbs up or a thumbs down on whether they made AYP. But, the focus on achievement levels among different groups of students will help our educators provide immediate attention to those students who aren't performing at high levels."
School districts also are held to the requirements of AYP under NCLB. Fifty-five of Kentucky's 176 school districts -- 31.4 percent -- met 100 percent of their target goals. For NCLB requirements, school districts are gauged on the total student population. This can mean that, even if every school within a district makes AYP, the district may not because of the total size of subpopulations and their performance.
RANGE NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
SCHOOLS DISTRICTS
100 702 55
90 - 99 173 51
80 - 89 182 44
70 - 79 55 18
60 - 69 25 6
50 - 59 25 1
40 - 49 1 1
30 - 39 6 0
20 - 29 3 0
0 - 19 0 0
Signed into law in January 2002, NCLB requires states to provide information on schools' and districts' progress toward proficiency by 2014. Each state uses its own standards and assessments to make the annual determinations. Kentucky used data from the 2002 and 2003 administration of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) to provide 2003 AYP information for its schools and districts. The state also adopted a graduation rate formula for its high schools, as required by NCLB.
NCLB mandates that schools and districts be held accountable for the progress of subgroups -- minority students, low-income students, students with disabilities, students with limited-English proficiency (LEP) -- in reading and mathematics testing in grades 3 through 8 and rates of participation in testing. Schools also are held accountable for other academic indicators -- for elementary and middle schools, that indicator is the CATS accountability index; for high schools, the indicator is the graduation rate. If, after the spring 2004 administration of CATS, the school, district or one or more one or more subgroups of sufficient size in the school or district do not make progress toward goals in reading and mathematics or achieve the 95 percent participation rate or if schools and districts do not show improvement on the other academic indicators, the school or district may considered by the U.S. Department of Education to be in need of improvement. If schools or districts that receive federal Title I funds do not make AYP in the same content area for two consecutive years, they face federal consequences, which include offering school choice and revising school improvement plans.
Schools and districts that receive funding under the federal Title I program, which provides funds to ensure that disadvantaged children receive opportunities for high-quality educational services, will be subject to federal consequences under NCLB. Title I encourages high standards, focus on achievement gaps, targeted resource allocation, parental involvement and sound educational services.
In Kentucky, 873 of the 1,207 schools participating in the state's assessment and accountability system are funded by Title I. All of the state's 176 school districts -- with the exception of Anchorage Independent -- receive some Title I funding.
NOTE: Because some schools are designated as "joint" schools for accountability purposes, the combined numbers of those making AYP and those not making AYP only reach 1,179.
Each Kentucky school and district has a specific number of NCLB goals to meet in order to make AYP. Each grade level -- elementary, middle, high and combined -- has a unique Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) for reading and mathematics that schools and districts must reach in order to achieve AYP. That goal is based on overall statewide performance in 2002.
Schools and districts also may be in "safe harbor" if they do not meet the reading or mathematics AMOs, but do meet these criteria:
* reducing the percentage of total students or subpopulation (whichever group did not meet the reading or mathematics AMO) that score below proficient by 10 percent
* students in the same population or subpopulation(s) meet the criteria for demonstrating improvement on the CATS academic index
A school or district in safe harbor is considered to have met the AMOs for reading and/or mathematics.
The number of goals varies depending on the sizes of subpopulations in each school and district. Subpopulation data is reportable only if it meets a minimum group size of 10 students per grade where NCLB-required assessments are administered and 30 students in those grades combined. The maximum number of goals is 25. For school districts, the number of goals to meet ranges from 6 to 25, with only two of the state's most diverse school districts -- Jefferson and Fayette -- required to meet all 25 goals to make AYP. For individual schools, the number of goals to be met ranges from 4 to 21.
GOALS FOR ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS
- Met AMO in Reading - All Students
- Met AMO in Reading - White (Non-Hispanic) Students
- Met AMO in Reading - African American Students
- Met AMO in Reading - Hispanic Students
- Met AMO in Reading - Asian Students
- Met AMO in Reading - LEP Students
- Met AMO in Reading - Free/Reduced-Price Lunch Eligible Students
- Met AMO in Reading - Students With Disabilities
- Met AMO in Mathematics - All Students
- Met AMO in Mathematics - White (Non-Hispanic) Students
- Met AMO in Mathematics- African American Students
- Met AMO in Mathematics - Hispanic Students
- Met AMO in Mathematics - Asian Students
- Met AMO in Mathematics - LEP Students
- Met AMO in Mathematics - Free/Reduced-Price Lunch Eligible Students
- Met AMO in Mathematics - Students With Disabilities
- Met Participation Rate in Reading and Mathematics - All Students
- Met Participation Rate in Reading and Mathematics - White (Non-Hispanic) Students
- Met Participation Rate in Reading and Mathematics - African American Students
- Met Participation Rate in Reading and Mathematics - Hispanic Students
- Met Participation Rate in Reading and Mathematics - Asian Students
- Met Participation Rate in Reading and Mathematics - LEP Students
- Met Participation Rate in Reading and Mathematics - Free/Reduced-Price Lunch Eligible Students
- Met Participation Rate in Reading and Mathematics - Students With Disabilities
- Met Other Academic Indicator (Graduation Rate for High Schools/CATS Accountability Index for Elementary and Middle Schools)
In the 470 schools that did not make AYP, 355 made 80 percent or more of their goals. Of the 268 schools that met the population criteria for African American students in reading, 22 percent (59 schools) did not make AYP for this student subpopulation. Of the 385 schools that met the population criteria for students with disabilities in reading, 53.5 percent (206 schools) did not make AYP for this student subpopulation.
Of the 267 schools that met the population criteria for African American students in mathematics, 28.5 percent (76 schools) did not make AYP for this student subpopulation. Of the 384 schools that met the population criteria for students with disabilities in mathematics, 36.2 percent (139 schools) did not make AYP for this student subpopulation.
A data review period has been set for schools and districts to analyze their data and report any discrepancies to Department of Education staff. That data review period lasts until December 1.
Detailed information on the AYP status of each Kentucky public school and district is available by visiting the Department of Education's main Web site, here .
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