The term AYP comes from the federal requirement that all schools and districts will have a certain – and growing – percentage of the students passing the state’s reading and math tests each year, so that 100 percent of students in all schools nationwide will be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014.

AYP calculations are based on reading and mathematics scores from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, and the breakout of results by nine student profiles: all students, the five major ethnic groups, low-income status and inclusion in special education or English language learner programs. Other factors, such as unexcused student absences for elementary and middle schools or high school graduation rates, are also included in a school’s calculation.

If a school or district misses the goal in a single category, it fails to make AYP.  A school moves into “improvement” status after it misses its AYP goals for two consecutive years in the same subject – reading or mathematics. A district moves into “improvement” status when it misses making AYP for two consecutive years in all three grade spans (elementary, middle, secondary) in any subgroup in the same subject area.  Schools are evaluated in up to 37 categories, and districts in up to 111. They must meet achievement targets in every category to make AYP. To exit improvement, a school or district must meet AYP goals in each category for two consecutive years.

Blaine School District made AYP.  Blaine Middle School moved into Step two of Improvement due to our Special Education Reading and Math cells.  Blaine Middle School will be offering supplemental services as per law, in an effort to increasingly support the success of these students.  Click here for Blaine School District or School specific data with respect to AYP: 

Blaine School Distict AYP 2008-2009 Data

State Superintendent Randy Dorn called for more fairness and changes in the federal accountability system known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in an August, 2009 news conference.  “Our state testing scores are flat, yet the federal system shows an additional 500 schools are failing,” Dorn said. “What is failing is No Child Left Behind. The law is completely unfair. While we know there is certainly room for improvement in our schools, it’s a statistical guarantee in this law that all of our schools will soon be in federal improvement status. That’s unrealistic.”