| AYP | Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). As required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), all schools and districts are expected to meet or exceed specific student performance standards in English language arts/reading (ELA) and mathematics by the year 2014. AYP determinations are issued yearly based on the performance of all students and for student subgroups to monitor the interim progress toward attainment of those performance goals. To receive an affirmative 2007 AYP determination, districts and schools must meet a student participation requirement, an additional attendance or graduation requirement, and either the State's 2007 performance target for that subject or the district, school or subgroup's own 2007 improvement target. A group may also make AYP by reducing the percentage of non-proficient students by 10% from 2006 to 2007 (NCLB's Safe Harbor provision). |
| Adequate Yearly Progress History | As shown on school and district AYP reports, the AYP History provides a snapshot of the years between 1999 and 2007. A finding of "Yes" or "No" in a given year indicates if the school or district made AYP. Schools and districts that do not make AYP for two or more consecutive years in the aggregate or for a student subgroup in ELA or mathematics must follow a required course of action to improve school performance. A school or district's "Accountability Status" defines that course of action. (See NCLB Accountability Status) |
| Attendance | Attendance is the additional AYP indicator for elementary schools and middle schools, and for districts at the grade 3-5 and 6-8 grade spans. Attendance rates are calculated by dividing the total number of days all students attended school by the total number of days all students were enrolled. The attendance rate required to make AYP in 2007 was 92%, or improvement of at least 1% from the previous year, and determinations were made for groups of six or more students.
Attendance and enrollment data were derived from Student Information Management System (SIMS) end-of-year reports. The attendance rules for 2007 were as follows:
Only the amount of time a student spent at the school in which they were enrolled on October 1, 2006 factored into school-level attendance calculations. Students were not counted towards multiple schools. Students were included in district attendance rate calculations for any time spent in any reported district. District attendance calculations also included students who were out-placed in public collaborative or private alternative schools/programs at public expense.
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| CPI | Composite Performance Index. The CPI is a 100-point index that assigns 100, 75, 50, 25, or 0 points to each student participating in MCAS and MCAS-Alt tests based on their performance. The total points assigned to each student are added together and the sum is divided by the total number of students assessed. The result is a number between 0 and 100, which constitutes a district, school or subgroup's CPI for that subject and student group. The CPI is a measure of the extent to which students in a group are progressing toward proficiency (a CPI of 100) in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. CPIs are generated separately by subject area and at all levels - state, district, school, and student subgroup. For detailed information, see the School Leaders' Guide to the 2007 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Reports   . |
| EB | Error Band. As shown on school and district AYP reports, the improvement that a district, school or subgroup had to make from one year to the next is expressed as a target range. (See On Target Range.) This range includes an "error band" that surrounds the target number to reduce measurement error. As a consequence, a district, school or subgroup may meet its improvement target even if its CPI falls below the target number. Error bands vary between 1.0 and 4.5, depending on the size of the group measured and whether that group was at the school or district level. Error bands are applied to a group's Gain Target, not its CPI. |
| Gain Target | As shown on school and district AYP reports, the Gain Target represents the amount of improvement, measured in CPI points, that a district, school or subgroup is expected to make between 2006 and 2007. Gain targets are calculated by subtracting the 2006 CPI (Baseline) from 100 (the ultimate CPI goal), and dividing the difference by the number of years (8) between 2006 and 2014. Gain targets are specific to each district, school and subgroup. |
| Grade Spans | District-level AYP determinations are issued separately for three grade spans - grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 - for students in the aggregate and student subgroups in ELA and mathematics. District accountability status determinations are driven by these grade-span AYP determinations. (See NCLB Accountability Status) |
| Graduation Rate | Prior to 2007, our State's federally-approved interim additional indicator for high schools and for districts at the 9-12 grade-span was the Competency Determination (CD) rate. Beginning in 2007 that additional indicator is the 4-year cohort graduation rate. This year all Massachusetts public high schools and districts at the grade 9-12 grade-span will have to meet or exceed the State's graduation rate standard for all reportable student groups in order to make AYP. This year, a minimum standard of 55 percent will apply to the "2006 cohort" (students who entered grade 9 in the 2002-03 academic year, or transferred into the cohort). Determinations are only made for groups of six or more students. |
| Improvement Rating | School and district AYP reports show performance and improvement ratings based on aggregate student performance on MCAS/MCAS-Alt ELA and mathematics tests. These ratings are descriptive terms used to track progress toward meeting the goal of all students achieving proficiency in those subjects by the year 2014. School leaders may use these ratings to communicate 'big picture' accountability findings to parents, community members, and other stakeholders. Improvement ratings correspond to the amount of CPI gain a school or district achieved in 2007 as compared to 2006 (See Gain Target). Improvement ratings are based on aggregate student performance on MCAS ELA and mathematics tests. The five improvement rating categories are: Above Target, On Target, Improved Below Target, No Change, and Declined. |
| Met Target (Improvement) | To make AYP, districts, schools, and student subgroups must meet either the State Performance Target or their own Improvement Target for ELA and for mathematics, respectively. A district, school or subgroup's Improvement Target is calculated by adding its Gain Target to its 2006 CPI (Baseline). See also Met Target (Performance) |
| Met Target (Performance) | To make AYP, districts, schools, and student subgroups must meet either the State Performance Target or their own Improvement Target for ELA and for mathematics, respectively. For 2007, the State Performance Target for ELA is a CPI of 85.4 points. For mathematics, the State Performance Target is 76.5. See also Met Target (Improvement) |
| N | As shown on detailed school and district AYP reports, "N" represents the number of students whose MCAS/MCAS-Alt results were included in the 2007 CPI calculations. At the school-level, this number includes only those students enrolled on or before October 1, 2006. The results of all Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in their first year of U.S. schooling are excluded from performance and improvement calculations in ELA and mathematics tests, as are students who did not complete testing. |
| NCLB Accountability Status | Schools and districts that do not make AYP for two or more consecutive years must follow a required course of action to improve school performance. A school or district's "NCLB Accountability Status" defines that course of action. Accountability Status designations include Improvement, Corrective Action and Restructuring. To be assigned to the positive No Status category, schools have to make AYP in a subject for all student groups for two or more consecutive years, and districts have to make AYP for at least one grade span in a subject for two consecutive years. (District AYP determinations are based on three grade spans: grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12) For detailed information, see the document entitled 2007-08 School and District Accountability Status and Required Actions . |
| NCLB School Choice Required | Under NCLB, when a school receiving federal Title I funds is identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring, the district is required to offer all students enrolled in the school the option to transfer to another public school served by the district that has not been identified for school improvement, if such an option is available. As shown on school AYP reports, the label "Yes" is displayed for Title I schools that must provide NCLB School Choice. |
| No Determination | Districts, schools, and student subgroups that do not meet the minimum sample size requirements for 2007 do not receive an AYP determination.
Since 2004, AYP determinations are calculated for student populations in the aggregate whenever the number of students assessed is twenty (20) or greater in each year for which performance data is being analyzed. When the total number of students assessed per year is fewer than twenty, the Department determines, on a case-by-case basis, the most reliable, valid, and consistent method to render an AYP determination for the school or district.
AYP determinations are calculated for subgroups if they include (1) forty students or greater assessed in each year for which performance data is being analyzed, AND (2) the number of subgroup members was at least 5% of students whose assessment results are included in the school's or district's aggregate AYP calculation, OR (3) the number of subgroup members was 200 or more.
Subgroups must meet the sample size requirements in each year under review in order to receive an AYP determination.
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| On Target Range | As shown on detailed school and district AYP reports, the On Target Range displays the minimum and maximum CPI scores required for a district, school or student subgroup to remain on target toward NCLB's goal of 100% proficiency by the year 2014, taking into consideration the error band surrounding each group's Improvement Target (the 2006 Baseline CPI plus the Gain Target). The smaller number in the On Target Range represents the Improvement Target minus the error band, while the larger number in the On Target Range represents the Improvement Target plus the error band. |
| Participation | Participation is a required component of AYP calculations. As shown on detailed school and district AYP reports, participation rates display the number of students who participated in MCAS tests (# assessed) divided by the number of students who were enrolled (# enrolled) on the date MCAS/MCAS-Alt tests were administered. As a matter of federal law, the required participation rate to make AYP is 95%. |
| Performance Rating | School and district AYP reports show performance and improvement ratings based on aggregate student performance on MCAS/MCAS-Alt ELA and mathematics tests. These ratings are descriptive terms used to track progress toward meeting the goal of all students achieving proficiency in those subjects by the year 2014. School leaders may use these ratings to communicate 'big picture' accountability findings to parents, community members, and other stakeholders. Performance ratings correspond to a school or district's aggregate CPI each year. The six performance rating categories and corresponding CPI ranges are: Very High (90 - 100), High (80 - 89.9), Moderate (70 - 79.9), Low (60 - 69.9), Very Low (40 - 59.9), and Critically Low (0 - 39.9). |
| SH | Safe Harbor. When a district, school or student subgroup fails to meet its performance and improvement targets but reduces the percentage of non-proficient students by 10% from 2006 to 2007, the group is considered to have met its improvement target on the basis of the NCLB Safe Harbor provision. When this occurs, the label "Yes/SH" is displayed in the Met Target column for Improvement. |
| Supplemental Educational Services Required | Supplemental educational services (SES) are additional, free, academic instruction - or tutoring - designed to increase the academic achievement of students in schools identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring under NCLB. Students from low-income families attending Title I schools in their second year of school improvement (i.e., have not made AYP for three or more years), in corrective action, or in restructuring status are eligible to receive SES. As shown on school AYP reports, the label "Yes" is displayed for Title I schools that must offer SES. For detailed information, see the document entitled 2007-08 School and District Accountability Status and Required Actions . |
| Title I Status | A school or district's Title I Status is an indication of whether it is receiving federal Title I funds in 2007-08, based on the most recent data obtained by the Department. Title I schools and districts that do not make AYP for two or more consecutive years have certain responsibilities under NCLB. For detailed information, see the document entitled 2007-08 School and District Accountability Status and Required Actions . |
| 2006 CPI (Baseline) | A district, school or subgroup's 2007 CPI baseline is its 2006 CPI for all grades assessed, by subject area. The 2006 CPI includes the results of MCAS/MCAS-Alt ELA and mathematics tests, respectively, in grades 3~8 and 10 from spring 2006. 2007 AYP improvement calculations are derived from a comparison of test results from spring 2006 to spring 2007. |
| 2007 CPI | A district, school or subgroup's 2007 CPI is comprised of student assessment results in MCAS/MCAS-Alt ELA and mathematics tests, respectively, in grades 3~8 and 10 from spring 2007. 2007 AYP performance calculations are derived from these results. |
| 2% | The label "Yes/2%" in the Performance Met Target column for the Special Education subgroup indicates that the school or district benefited from an interim flexibility rule offered Massachusetts by the U.S. Department of Education for the 2005~2007 AYP reporting years. For detailed information, see the School Leaders' Guide to the 2007 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Reports . |
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