Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is one of the cornerstones of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.  In Michigan, it's a measure of year-to-year student achievement on the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) test.  According to NCLB, Michigan and other states must develop target starting goals for AYP and the state must "raise the bar" in gradual increments so 100 percent of the students in the state are proficient on state assessments by the 2013-14 school year.  While responsibility for making Adequate Yearly Progress is focused on the core subjects of English language arts and mathematics, schools and districts are encouraged to examine their progress in all subjects and use the information to help focus their school improvement planning and professional development activities.

NCLB also requires other indicators to be used in determining AYP.  For elementary and middle schools in Michigan, attendance rates are used.  For high schools, graduation rates are used.  The State is still determining how attendance and graduation measures will be defined.  It is expected that the 2002-03 AYP status schools receive in June 2003 will include these indicators.

AYP applies to each district and school in the state; however, NCLB sanctions for schools that do not make AYP for two or more years in a row only apply to those districts and schools that receive Title I funds. Because Michigan had an AYP definition in place before 2001-02, Title I schools that did not make AYP prior to that year may be identified for corrective action as defined in NCLB.

Each school receives its AYP status as a whole, but that's just part of the status report.  Schools also receive their disaggregated AYP status for subgroups of students based on the following categories:  race/ethnicity, students with disabilities, Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and economically disadvantaged.  According to the Michigan State Board of Education, each subgroup must include at least 30 students to ensure student confidentiality and statistical reliability.

The Title I measure of Adequate Yearly Progress has also been made a part of Michigan's new accreditation system, Education YES! A grade of D or F based on the other Education YES! factors is raised to the next higher grade if a school makes AYP. A school that would otherwise receive an A grade, but fails to make AYP, has its grade lowered to a B. Schools with low grades that fail to make AYP are identified to receive special assistance and may also face other consequences under both federal and state law.