Adequate Yearly Progress - Status Summary Update
2010 - 2011 / 2011 - 2012
Updated: April 11, 2012

Background and Rationale

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires states to develop plans to reward and sanction schools that receive federal funding under Title 1, the portion of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 that aims to improve academic achievement of disadvantaged students.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is the term used in the federal “No Child Left Behind Act” (NCLB) to describe the amount of academic progress expected of each school each year. The subjects included in AYP calculations are reading and math in grades 3-8 and grade 11.

AYP calculations are based on assessment score data, currently through assessment scores in reading and math on the New England Comprehensive Assessment Program (NECAP) for Grades 3-8 and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for Grade 11, the state-adopted, standardized testing programs. These assessments measure student progress on Maine's academic standards, referred to as the Maine Learning Results, and most currently, the Parameters for Essential Instruction. NCLB-related testing data is collected by the Maine Department of Education each school year.

In addition to increased testing and accountability, NCLB requires an accountability system in which student test scores are separated into distinct categories, or “subgroups”, to be sure that the students who are most at risk are performing well. The NCLB subgroups include: race, ethnicity, gender, English language proficiency, migrant status, disability, and low-income.

The ultimate goal of NCLB is for all students to score “proficient” or above on state standard tests by the year 2014. Every state is required to develop a system of accountability to move toward this goal, known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), as noted previously. The Maine Department of Education uses the NECAP and SAT test scores (previously the MEA (Maine Educational Assessment) scores) each year to rate schools on the AYP track and to determine whether or not schools are impacting the achievement of all students.

If a school does not have the required number of students (as a whole and in each subcategory) meeting or exceeding the standards, as measured by the NECAP or SAT scores, for AYP in any given year, NCLB mandates a series of consequences. There are three categories of identification for individual schools: Making AYP, Monitor status and Continuous Improvement Priority School (CIPS) status.

Schools that are identified as not meeting all AYP targets for the first time are identified as being on “Monitor” status and are not subject to the federal sanctions applied to Title 1A schools. Schools identified as not meeting all AYP targets for two or more years are referred to as Continuous Improvement Priority (CIPS) Schools. CIPS schools that have a Title 1A program have various obligations under federal law. Schools that don't receive Title 1 funding aren't accountable to No Child Left Behind. Still, the Maine Department of Education expects all public schools to strive to meet educational standards outlined in Maine Learning Results.

Maine's approach to identification of schools is focused on the following key assumptions:

To this end, all of the schools in Gorham work hard to use data to effectively raise our overall accountability relative to student performance and inform our instructional practices, programs and supportive services in order to facilitate the growth of all of our students.

Current AYP Status Statement of Each School

PLEASE NOTE: The State of Maine has applied to the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver to hold AYP Targets for 2010-11 at the same level as 2009-2010. For this reason, new AYP status updates have not been released yet (April 2012).

Narragansett Elementary School's 2010-2011 overall AYP status is identified as Making AYP (based on the Fall 2009 NECAP results - Reported September 2010 - and Fall 2010 NECAP results - Reported March 2011). It is making AYP in the areas of Reading and Math. 2010-2011 Annual Progress reflected that all learning targets were met. Narragansett's AYP status for 2009-2010 was also identified as Making AYP in the areas of Reading and Math.

White Rock Elementary School's 2010-2011 overall AYP status is identified as Making AYP (based on the Fall 2009 NECAP results - Reported September 2010 - and Fall 2010 NECAP results - Reported March 2011). It is making AYP in the areas of Reading and Math. 2010-2011 Annual Progress reflects that all learning targets were met. White Rock's AYP status for 2009-2010 was identified as Making AYP in the areas of Reading and Math.

Village Elementary School's 2010-2011 overall AYP status (based on the Fall 2010 NECAP results - Reported March 2011) is identified as Making AYP in both Reading and Math due to “Safe Harbor.” Safe Harbor means that that we have decreased the percentage of students not meeting the standards in targeted subgroups by at least 10%. Based on the Fall 2009 NECAP results, Village Elementary School was on Monitor status in the areas of Reading and Math, as targets were not met for the subgroup, Students with Disabilities. 2010-2011 Annual Progress reflects that all learning targets were met. Village's AYP status for 2009-2010 was also identified as Making AYP in the areas of Reading and Math.

It is important to note, however that the combined Gorham School Department K-5 2010-2011 overall status is identified as Not Making AYP, (based on the Fall 2010 NECAP results - Reported March 2010.) In Reading, the K-5 overall status is Making AYP, due to Safe Harbor. In Math, the K-5 overall status is Not Making AYP, as the subgroup, Students with Disabilities, did not reach the learning targets.

The question arises as to how individual schools can meet AYP but yet collectively, the larger group does not. The rationale for this can be explained in the following way. AYP is determined using the performance of the students during their “teaching year,” the year that they were instructed. For example, scores of a third grade group actually reflects the teaching year of that second grade group. AYP for the district is derived by aggregating student performance scores from a combination of all of the elementary schools.

In the 2 K-2 schools, AYP would reflect the performance of the students who were in grade 2 in 09-10. White Rock and Narragansett Schools had subgroup populations (economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities) that were too small to review. For grades 3-5, district AYP, we combine the students who took the test in grades 3-5 in October for participation, and the students who were taught in grades 2-4 in 2009-10 for performance. When you combine the data for 2-4 together, you pull in the scores for the small groups in the K-2 schools in addition to the grade 3-4 scores from Village. Unfortunately, the students with disabilities group across these grades did not meet the target and did not show enough progress to qualify for safe harbor.

Gorham Middle School's 2010-2011 overall AYP status is identified as CIPS4 (based on the Fall 2010 NECAP results - Reported March 2011).

Based on the Fall 2010 NECAP results, GMS did meet AYP in the area of Reading for all subgroups due to “Safe Harbor”. Safe Harbor means that that we have decreased the percentage of students not meeting the standards in targeted subgroups by at least 10%. As reflected from the Fall 2009 NECAP results, it did not make AYP in the area of Reading for the subgroup, Students with Disabilities. Gorham Middle School's Status in this area for 2009-2010 was CIPS3-on hold, as it had made AYP in this area for one year in 2009-10.

In Math, Gorham Middle School did not make AYP for the 2010-2011 year (based on the Fall 2010 NECAP results) in the subgroup, Students with Disabilities. Previously (as reflected from the Fall 2009 NECAP results) all targets were met in the area of math through “Safe Harbor” (a designation given to schools that reduce the number of students not meeting proficiency by at least 10%). In 2009-2010, Gorham Middle School was identified as Making AYP in the area of Math.

Gorham High School's 2010-2011 overall AYP status is identified as CIPS4 (as reflected from the May 2010 MHSA results (Maine High School Assessment - (SAT)). It did not make AYP in the area of Reading for the Whole Group, as well as the subgroups, Caucasion Students and Economically Disadvantaged Students. AYP designation based upon the 2011 MHSA Results are not yet available. Gorham High's School's AYP status for 2009-2010 was identified as CIPS3 in the area of Reading.

In Math, Gorham High School was identified as CIPS1 for the 2010-2011 year, as targets were not met in 2010 in math for the subgroup, students who are Economically Disadvantaged. In 2009-2010, Gorham High School was identified as Monitor Status in the area of Math.

In all of these cases, it is important to note that the learning target for both Reading and Math have been steadily increasing over time. This is exemplified by the following AYP Target Trajectories in the areas of Reading and Math.

 

As a side note, it takes two consecutive years of not making AYP to be identified for improvement under NCLB's accountability system. It also takes two consecutive years of making AYP for a school to no longer be identified as needing improvement.

If an identified school makes AYP for one year, it does not proceed to the next level of the improvement process (i.e., offer supplemental services, implement corrective action or restructuring, depending on what level the school was in).

If the school makes AYP for a second consecutive year, it is no longer identified as needing improvement. If the school only makes AYP for one year and then does not make AYP the next, it must continue implementing NCLB's school improvement process.

Consequent to these AYP designations at each level, each school is charged with developing, implementing and maintaining a continuous school improvement plan to address and mitigate areas of concern within the areas of reading and math. These are offered as follows.