Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP): The minimum level of
improvement that schools and school districts must make each year,
as determined under the No Child Left Behind act and related state
rules.
Additional
Indicator: Another way to measure whether a school has
achieved AYP, chosen by the school system. In Fulton, attendance
rate is the additional indicator for grades 3-8 and graduation
rate is the additional indicator for high school.
Attendance
Rate: A school qualifies for AYP if less than 15%
of enrolled students are absent for any reason for less than 15
days in a school year. In Fulton, this is used an additional indicator
for AYP for students in grades 3-8.
Corrective
Action: If a school does not achieve AYP for four consecutive
years, it must change its staffing
or make other fundamental changes such as implementing new curriculum,
appointing an outside expert to advise the school, or extending
the school year or school day.
CRCT:
Criterion Referenced Competency Test - State of Georgia
tests designed to measure how well students have acquired the
skills and knowledge required in the state curriculum.
Students in grades 1-8 take the CRCT in reading, English/language
arts and mathematics; students in grades 3-8 also take the CRCT
in science and social studies.
GHSGT:
Georgia High School Graduation Test - In order to graduate
from high school, all students must achieve a passing score on
all five components of this test: mathematics, English/language
arts, writing, science and social studies. In order for a school
to achieve AYP, students must pass the mathematics and English/language
arts sections at specified levels.
Graduation
Rate: The percentage of students who graduate from secondary
school with a regular diploma in the standard number of years.
High schools are required to have a 60% or higher graduation rate
in order to make AYP.
LEP:
Limited English proficiency, referring to students
for whom English is their second language and who are not reading
or writing English at or above grade.
Low
Income: Students who are economically disadvantaged,
generally identified by students who are eligible to participate
in the free and reduced school lunch program.
NCLB:
The federal No Child Left Behind act, the most
recent authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA), which is the primary federal law affecting K-12 education.
Needs
Improvement: The designation given to a school
that fails to achieve AYP for at least two consecutive years.
Participation
Rate: Percentage of students in a school or district
taking a state assessment.
Performance
Goals: Criteria that must be met by every school and
school system in Georgia in order to achieve AYP. In Fulton County,
the performance goals are:
- 95%
participation rate: 95% of students as a whole and of each student
subgroup with 40 or more members must take the state assessments.
- Meet
or exceed proficiency: A percentage of all students and of each
student subgroup with 40 or more members must score at or above
the state's objective.
- Additional
indicator: attendance rate for grades 3-8; graduation rate for
high school; Middle Grades Writing Assessment
Persistently
Dangerous Schools: According to NCLB, states
are required to establish a uniform management and reporting system
to collect information on school safety and drug use among young
people. If based on the state guidelines a school is defined
as "persistently dangerous," parents must be given the option
to have their child attend a different school in the school system
that is not labeled as persistently dangerous. In Georgia,
a persistently dangerous school is one in which, for three consecutive
years:
- At least one student violated a school rule related to a violent
criminal offense on campus or at a school-sanctioned event, and/or
- At least two percent of the school's students or 10 students,
whichever is greater, have violated school rules related to other
identified criminal offenses.
Proficiency:
Mastery or the ability to perform at grade level.
Restructuring:
If a school does not achieve AYP for four years in a
row, the school district must reorganize the school by re-opening
the school as a charter school, replacing the school principal
and staff members, contracting with a private company to take
over the school, having the state take over the school or some
other method. This restructuring must begin no later than
the first day of the fifth year.
Safe
Harbor: A method for a school to achieve AYP status
even if all the subgroups do not meet the performance targets,
intended for schools and school systems that are making at least
10% progress in student achievement but are not yet meeting AYP
target goals. It is designed to prevent the over-identification
of schools not making AYP.
School
Choice: Students in a school that has not achieved
AYP for at least two consecutive years have the option to attend
a different school in the same school system that has achieved
AYP, and transportation to the different school must be provided
by the school system if the sending school is a Title I school.
Students
with Disabilities: Students who have an individualized
educational plan (IEP).
Subgroup:
Smaller groups of students separated (disaggregated)
from the whole group that may be present in a school or school
system. The subgroups specified in the NCLB law are Native
American/Alaskan Native students, Asian/Pacific Islander students,
Black students, White students, Hispanic students, students with
limited English proficiency, students who are economically disadvantaged
and students with disabilities. In order for a subgroup
to be counted for AYP, it must have at least 40 students.
Supplemental
Services: Research-based, extended-day programs
that are proven to increase student achievement. This may include
programs offered by the school system or by private providers.
The services are free up to limits set by law to low-income students
in schools that have not made AYP for at least three years in
a row. Supplemental services are to provide academic assistance
in reading and math, and must take place before school, after
school or during the summer.
Title
I: A part of the federal Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA) that provides federal funds for schools to
help students who are behind academically or at risk of falling
behind academically. The funding is based on the number of low-income
children in a school (generally those students eligible for free
or reduced lunch). It is intended to supplement, not replace,
state and school system funds. In Fulton, 33 elementary and middle
schools qualify for this additional support.
