More Than 79% of Schools Make AYP

More than 79 percent of Georgia's public schools made Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, according to initial results -- a 10 point jump over 2008.

Additionally, 58 schools across the state shook the "Needs Improvement" label by having made AYP for two consecutive years.

Compared to initial AYP results last year, the 2009 report shows that:
- The percentage of schools making AYP jumped more than 10 points from 68.8% to 79.1%.
- The percentage of elementary schools making AYP jumped 13.4 points and the percentage of middle schools jumped 10.4 points.
- The percentage of Title 1 schools making AYP increased by more than 13 points, from 64.8% to 78.4% (Title 1 schools have a significant population of economically-disadvantaged students).

. Pass rates on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) in mathematics improved in all grades across the state.

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The percentage of high schools making AYP continues to lag behind. In 2009, just over 47 percent of the state's high schools made AYP, a slight decrease from 2008's initial results.

AYP is the formula used to determine if schools are meeting expectations under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. It consists of three parts -- test participation, academic achievement and another statistic, called a "second indicator." The academic goals continue to rise every few years toward a goal of 100 percent proficiency for all students by 2014. This year, all of the academic goals remained the same as 2008, although the graduation rate bar went up.

All students at a school, as well as any qualifying subgroup of students, must meet goals in all three categories in order to "make AYP." Schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years in the same subject are placed in "Needs Improvement" status and face escalating consequences.

For more information on AYP.



58 Schools No Longer in “Needs Improvement”

Initial results show that 58 schools came out of "Needs Improvement" -- or NI -- status by making AYP for the second consecutive year. Twelve of those schools had been in NI status for five or more years and were facing the highest level of sanctions.

There are 334 schools in NI status for the coming school year. These schools must offer parents options, such as public school choice or federally-funded tutoring. Depending on how long these schools have been in NI, some may have to make structural or organizational changes to improve student achievement.

In 2008, there were 340 NI schools after the initial results. That number dropped to 308 after retests, summer graduates and appeals were worked into the formula.


Graduation Rate
The state's initial 2009 graduation rate is 77.8 percent. That is up from the initial 2008 graduation rate of 74.4 percent and the final 2008 graduation rate of 75.4 percent, which included summer graduates.
Graduation Rate must be used as a "second indicator" for all high schools and the bar was raised this year.
In order to make AYP a high school had to have a graduation rate of 75 percent or higher, up from 70 percent last year. If a school did not make that goal, they could use a "second look" which means:
- Having a graduation rate that averaged 75 percent or higher over the past three years OR

Having a graduation rate of at least 55 percent the previous year (2008) and showing a 10 percent improvement in the rate this year.


Complete Report