Statewide AYP Results Announced

PSD Schools Meet 130 of 147 Performance Targets in 2008 Federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Achievement Measures

Poudre School District schools met 130 of 147, or 88.4 percent of their performance targets for student achievement in the federal government’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measures, announced October 1 by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE).

PSD Among 57.6% of Colorado Districts That Didn’t Make AYP

Making AYP requires districts and schools to meet 100% of their targets.  “Because we didn’t meet all 147 targets for all students in all schools, the district did not make AYP for 2007–2008,” says Chuck DeWayne, PSD’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment.  Larger districts have a greater number of targets to meet, making AYP more difficult to attain.  In 2008, the largest district in Colorado to make AYP had 1,633 students with only 68 targets to meet.  PSD’s 2007-2008 enrollment was 25,610.

AYP is determined using test scores for nine categories or subgroups of students are reported for all schools: all students, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, African American, White, English Language Learners, students on federal meal benefits (poverty indicator), and students with disabilities. Schools report progress for students in 3rd–10th grades in two subjects (reading and math), for a total of 54 performance targets to meet.

PSD AYP Percent of Targets Met 2003-2008

^*Targets increased in 2005 and in 2008.

Proficiency Targets Increase in 2008

AYP requires students to meet annual targeted goals for proficiency or progress in reading and math as measured by Colorada Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and CSAPA (CSAP Alternate test for special education students).  In 2008, proficiency goals increased, which they do every three years until they reach 100% in 2014, when all students are expected to reach proficiency.  For AYP purposes, proficiency is defined as Partially Proficient and above. 

AYP Proficiency Expectations for 2005 through 2014

Participation Rate Calculation Changes

The most basic requirement for making AYP is a 95% participation rate of students in all measurable subgroups taking state assessments.  A new rule interpretation has students who do not participate in CSAP due to parent refusal counting against schools and against the district.  Due to this change, PSD met participation targets through an appeal.  In future years, with an appeal no longer an option, similar rates of parent refusal for students to take CSAP will cause PSD to meet fewer AYP targets.

Improvement Plan

PSD, along with all Colorado school districts that didn’t meet all AYP targets, has been identified for program improvement for the current year and will develop an improvement plan by mid-January to submit to the CDE, which oversees the federal program.  PSD’s improvement plan will detail:

• How the district will use Title I federal and other funds to improve student achievement, and
• Reserve at least 10% of all Title I funds to provide professional development for teachers and administrators.

37 of 56 PSD Schools Met AYP Targets

Overall, 28 out of 33 PSD elementary schools met AYP targets or improvement goals for the 2007–2008 school year.  Six PSD middle level schools (Kinard, Liberty Common, Mountain View, Polaris Expeditionary, Ridgeview Classical, and Wellington) and three high schools (Fossil Ridge, Poudre, and Ridgeview Classical) also met the 2008 targets.

AYP one of Schools and Districts’ Three Roads to Accountability

AYP is one of “three roads to accountability”—one federal, one state, and one local—which measure public schools’ and districts’ progress toward meeting academic and related goals:

• Federal: Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is part of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, which set the goal for every child in the United States to be proficient in reading and math by 2014.
• State: School Accountability Reports, or SARs, are reports prepared using Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) test data, ACT test scores, and other data, which are distributed to parents across the state each year.
• Local: District Accreditation of schools is the ongoing review of overall school district and school performance and improvement plans conducted by each school and school district.

For additional information, contact Chuck DeWayne, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, at (970) 490-3667, or John Passantino, assessment and school support team coordinator, at (970) 490-3124.

* Title I, which is part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) supports Poudre School District programs to improve the learning of children.  The U.S. Department of Education provides Title I funds to state departments of education. The Colorado Department of Educatiion allocates funds to school districts based on the number of children from low -income families in each school district. However, Title I education services for children are based on academic need, not  family income.

The Title I program gives preschool, kindergarten and elementary school students an opportunity to receive extra assistance and support in reading and math. There are 12 elementary schools and one private school which receive extra support from Title I funding.

Attached Charts:     Percentage of PSD Students Meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) NCLB Proficiency Expectations