High
School AYP
The State of Michigan recently released Adequate Yearly Progress
Status (AYP) for Michigan schools . For the first time since
the program’s inception in 2003, Troy/Athens High School
will not be listed as one that has achieved AYP status. The
AYP status is not the result of performance-related issue
but rather from a subgroup of students not having 95 percent
of its members tested in the merit exam. The information below
provides information regarding the program, how AYP is determined,
and future steps that are being addressed in the Troy School
District.
AYP is mandated through the Federal No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) Act, which requires that all U.S. students reach a
level of proficiency by the year 2014. AYP requires all schools
to show progress toward this goal in its Michigan Merit Exam
(MME) tests. A letter grade for schools accompanies the State
of Michigan’s release of AYP status.
Under the system, there are approximately 50 ways in which
a school would not be awarded AYP. To achieve AYP, all students
must meet or exceed the state’s threshold for AYP. In
addition, any subgroup consisting of 30 in the school must
also meet those standards and show that at least 95 percent
of the subgroup was tested. Subgroups can be determined by
ethnicity, students with disabilities, Limited English Proficiency,
or students who are economically disadvantaged. If the school-as-a-whole
meets all the requirements for AYP, but a subgroup does not
– either for participation rate less than 95% or for
an insufficient percentage of students passing the test –
then the entire school fails to make AYP.
It should also be noted that it is extremely difficult for
high achieving schools like those in Troy to meet AYP. Higher
achieving schools have fewer students who need to improve
and more students who may show slight declines in testing
performance. Consequently, it is difficult to control normal
variations that occur as part of a standardized testing process.
Our school district continues to embrace a continuous improvement
process that is committed to the goal that all students will
achieve success at our high schools.
For both high schools, the State of Michigan determined that
at least 95 percent of students in particular subgroups did
not take the Michigan Merit Exam. In addition to the AYP status,
the State of Michigan awards a letter grade to schools as
part of this process. Both high schools received a "B."
AYP and Education YES! are standards which the Troy School
District will continue to use as evaluations of our schools.
District teachers and administrators are meeting to review
the AYP issue with the goal of having the school return to
proper status next year.
High schools in Troy are, and will continue to be, a high
achieving schools with a strong level of student achievement.
Our schools annually receive recognition for outstanding results:
they are a nationally recognized exemplary school district;
student achievement results continue to be among the highest
at county, national and state levels; and our students earn
top honors at state, national and international programs and
tournaments and are accepted at top universities.
|
