Glossary of Terms
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) – Adequate Yearly Progress is
the minimum level of improvement that school districts and schools
must achieve each year as determined under the Federal No Child Left
Behind Act.
High Priority school – A High Priority school is a school that
did not make Adequate Yearly Progress in the same benchmark for two
or more years in a row.
Good Standing school – A school that made Adequate Yearly Progress
in all of the state benchmarks.
Target school – A Target school is a school that missed a federal
benchmark in at least one area for one year. There are no penalties
for a Target School. It is simply a warning or a “heads
up.”
School Improvement - Schools on the High Priority list are considered
to be in “School Improvement.” The two terms are
essentially synonymous.
Supplemental Educational Services – Supplemental Education
Services are tutoring services for students from schools that do
not meet AYP for three consecutive years.
NCLB Choice School – An NCLB Choice School is one identified
in Good Standing that is available as a choice for parents who decide
to transfer their child out of a High Priority school.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is student achievement measured?
In
Tennessee, students in grades 3-8 take the TCAP achievement tests in
math, reading and language arts. In grades 5, 8 and 11, they
also take a writing assessment test. High school students take
the Gateway exams in Algebra I, Biology and English.
I thought my child’s school was good. Why is it on
the High Priority list?
No Child Left Behind has detailed
requirements for academics, graduation rates and attendance. If a school fails to meet just one requirement
in one subgroup, then it will be identified as not making AYP. This
includes achieving a 93% attendance rate for ALL students. If,
for example, the standardized test is given on a day when many students
are out with the flu, then it is possible that 93% of the students
were not present, causing that school not to make AYP.
How can I find out what caused my child’s school to end up
on the High Priority list?
A letter will be sent home
from your child’s school outlining
what resulted in the school being identified as High Priority and what
steps are being taken to boost student achievement. Additionally, pages
3-5 of this newsletter identify AYP results for each school. You
can also visit the district’s Web site at www.mcsk12.net, or
the state’s Web site at www.state.tn.us/education for
more information.
What does a school have to do to come off of the High Priority
list?
If a school meets the federal and state academic requirements for
two consecutive years in the areas where it previously missed the standards,
then it will be moved to the Good Standing list.
What can I as a parent do to help my school improve?
All
schools must develop school improvement plans, and schools identified
as High Priority schools must revise those plans based on input received
from parents. You can contact your child’s school to get information
about its school improvement planning team. Of course, the best
thing you can do is support your own child in his or her learning.
For more information, contact your school office to find out about
Title I parent meetings.
