School Support and Programs

No Child Left Behind - Adequate Yearly Progress and School Improvement
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The Accountability Workbook describes the Arkansas Plan for meeting the technical accountability requirements for schools and districts under the No Child Left Behind legislation. It outlines the process for determining the status of schools and districts based on expected performance gains for student achievement and the secondary indicators. The plan was originally approved by the U.S. Department of Education in 2002 and was amended in 2003 and 2004.

School Improvement List

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act calls for all students to meet the proficient level of performance in literacy and mathematics by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. In the intervening years, schools must make adequate yearly progress (AYP) towards meeting that goal. In Arkansas, schools must make AYP on the state’s Benchmark and End-of-Course Exams each year. The Benchmark exams are administered to students in Grades 3-8, while the End-of-Course Exams are administered for Algebra I and Geometry. A Literacy Exam is administered to students in Grade 11. Arkansas’ annual AYP goals are determined by the ADE and are part of the state’s plan, which has been approved by the U. S. Department of Education.

The federal law mandates that schools have to successfully meet AYP in categories, or subgroups. These subgroups include: all students, which is referred to as the combined population; Caucasian students; African-American students; Hispanic students; students who are limited English proficient; economically disadvantaged students; and students with disabilities. In order to hold a school accountable for a subgroup, the designated group must have more than 40 students.

Aside from the academic performance of a school’s students, a school can be placed on the School Improvement Schools list if less than 95 percent of eligible students were tested or the school did not meet the secondary indicator. For elementary and middle schools, the secondary indicator was student attendance. At the high school level, the secondary indicator was the graduation rate.

School Improvement Year 1 schools must offer their students the opportunity to attend another school within the district that is not designated as a School Improvement School. Those schools in School Improvement Year 2 must continue to offer their students the option of attending another school, as well as access to supplemental education services, which are focused on improving student achievement. Schools in School Improvement Year 3 must take corrective action, which includes options ranging from changes in staffing to changes in curriculum. For schools in School Improvement Year 4, the Arkansas Department of Education will take more aggressive action, which may include options ranging from making changes in the school’s management, making changes in staffing or exercising more day-to-day involvement in implementing the school’s improvement plan.