| AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) |
The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires all schools and districts to meet or exceed specific student performance standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics by the year 2014. AYP determinations are issued yearly based on the performance of all students (the "aggregate") and for individual student groups ("subgroups") to gauge the interim progress toward the attainment of those goals.
To make AYP in 2008, districts and schools must meet a student participation requirement, an additional attendance or graduation requirement, and either the State's 2008 performance target for that subject or the district, school or group's own 2008 improvement target.
A group may also make AYP by reducing the percentage of non-proficient students by 10% from 2007 to 2008 under NCLB's Safe Harbor provision. (See SH (Safe Harbor) provision).
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| Adequate Yearly Progress History |
As shown on school and district AYP reports, a snapshot of the years between 2000 and 2008. A finding of "Yes" or "No" in a given year tells if the school or district made AYP that year. Schools and districts that do not make AYP for two or more consecutive years in the aggregate or for a student group in ELA or mathematics must follow a course of action to improve school performance. A school or district's "Accountability Status" defines that course of action. (See NCLB Accountability Status) |
| Aggregate |
AYP determinations are issued yearly based on the performance of all students in the school or district (the "aggregate") and for individual student groups ("subgroups"). Students are included in the aggregate and in each student group to which they belong. |
| Attendance |
As shown on school and district AYP reports, the additional AYP indicator for elementary and middle schools. Attendance rates are calculated by dividing the total number of days all students in a particular group attended school by the total number of days all students were enrolled. |
| CPI (Composite Performance Index) |
A 100-point index combining the scores of students who take standard MCAS tests (the Proficiency Index) with the scores of those who take the MCAS-Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt) (the MCAS-Alt Index). The CPI is a measure of the extent to which students are progressing toward proficiency in ELA and mathematics, respectively. |
| Data Under Review |
Message displayed when the AYP Report for a school or district is under review by the Department. |
| EB (Error Band) |
As shown on data reports created by the Department, the improvement that a district, school, or group has to make from one year to another is expressed as a target range. (See On Target Range) This range includes an "error band" that surrounds the target number. Schools, districts, and groups have the opportunity to meet their improvement targets even if their 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 is at the school or district level. Error bands are applied to a group's gain target, not its CPI. |
| Gain Target |
As shown on data reports created by the Department, the amount of improvement - as measured in CPI points - a school, district, or student subgroup is expected to make from 2007 to 2008. Gain targets are calculated by subtracting the baseline CPI from 100 (the year 2014 performance target for all Massachusetts schools and districts), and dividing the difference by the number of remaining years, including the current year, until the year 2014. For 2008, that number is seven. Gain targets are set separately for ELA and mathematics. |
| 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 for individual student groups in ELA and mathematics. District accountability status determinations are driven by these grade-span AYP determinations. (See NCLB Accountability Status) |
| Graduation Rate |
All Massachusetts public high schools and districts at the grade 9-12 grade span must meet or exceed the State's graduation rate standard for all reportable student groups in order to make AYP. A minimum standard of 60 percent applies to the 2007 cohort (students who entered grade 9 in the 2003-04 academic year or transferred into the cohort).
High schools and districts at the grade 9-12 grade span may also make AYP in 2008 by demonstrating an improvement in the four-year graduation rate of two percentage points or more from 2007 to 2008. (See more information about the graduation rate)
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| Improvement Rating |
Descriptive term corresponding to the amount of aggregate CPI gain a school or district achieved in 2008 as compared to 2007. The improvement that a school or district is expected to make from one year to the next is expressed not as a single numeric target, but as a target range. This range includes an "error band" that surrounds the target number. A school or district's improvement rating corresponds to its aggregate improvement gain with respect to its error band as follows: Above Target (improved above error band), On Target (improved within error band), Improved Below Target (improved above the baseline but below the error band), No Change (gain was equivalent to baseline plus or minus the error band), and Declined (gain was below baseline and below the error band). (See EB (Error Band) |
| Met Target (Improvement) |
An indication of whether a district, school, or student group made AYP in 2008 by improving its CPI from 2007 to 2008 within or above its On Target Range. A district, school or group's improvement target is calculated by adding its gain target to its 2007 CPI (Baseline). |
| Met Target (Performance) |
An indication of whether a district, school, or student group made AYP in 2008 by meeting or exceeding the 2008 state performance target.
The 2008 state performance target for ELA is a CPI of 85.4 points. The 2008 state performance target for mathematics is a CPI of 76.5. |
| N (Performance) |
As shown on school and district AYP reports, the number of students whose assessment results are included in the CPI calculation for 2008. At the school level, this number includes only those students enrolled in the school on or before October 1, 2007 who participated in testing. The results of first-year limited English proficient (LEP) students are also excluded.
AYP determinations are made for student populations in the aggregate whenever the number of students assessed is 20 or greater in each year for which performance data is being analyzed.
AYP determinations are made for student groups if they include (1) 40 students or greater assessed in each year for which performance data is being analyzed, AND (2) the number of group 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 group members was 200 or more.
Districts, schools, and student groups that do not meet our minimum group size requirements for 2008 do not receive an AYP determination.
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| NCLB Accountability Status |
The category to which a school is assigned based on its AYP determinations over multiple years, to define the required course of school, district and/or state action that must be taken to improve student performance. Accountability status categories include No Status, Improvement, Corrective Action Restructuring.
A district or school is placed in an accountability status on the basis of the performance and improvement profile of students in the aggregate or of one or more student groups over two or more years in ELA and/or mathematics.
Schools that make AYP in a subject for all student groups for two or more consecutive years are assigned to the positive No Status category.
(See our guidance entitled 2008-09 School and District Accountability Status and Required Actions  )
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| 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. (See more information about NCLB School Choice) |
| No AYP Data Available |
Districts or schools that do not meet our minimum group size requirements for 2008 do not receive an AYP determination. In this case, a message will be displayed that no AYP data are available for the school or district. (See N (Performance)) |
| On Target Range |
As shown on data reports provided to schools and districts, the range of CPI values required for a group to be assigned an improvement rating of On Target, taking into consideration the error band surrounding each group's gain target. The smaller number represents the gain target minus the error band, while the larger number represents the gain target plus the error band. If the CPI of a district, school, or student group falls within the On Target Range, the group is considered to be On Target. |
| Participation |
A required component of AYP calculations that indicates the number of students who participated in MCAS/MCAS-Alt tests (# assessed) divided by the number of students enrolled (# enrolled) on the date MCAS tests are administered, including students with limited English proficiency enrolled in U.S. schools for the first time. As a matter of federal law, the minimum participation rate required to make AYP is 95%. |
| Performance Rating |
Issued annually, a descriptive representation of aggregate student performance on MCAS tests. Schools and districts are assigned one of six performance rating categories based on their 2008 CPI:
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)
(See Improvement Rating).
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| SH (Safe Harbor) |
A group can make AYP by reducing the percentage of non-proficient students by 10% from 2007 to 2008 (NCLB's safe harbor provision).
When students in the aggregate or any student group meet the participation requirement, but fail to meet the state performance target and its own gain target but the percentage not scoring in the proficient range decreased by 10% or more from one year to the next, the group is considered to have met its improvement target on the basis of safe harbor. As shown on school and district AYP reports, the abbreviation "SH" is appended to a group's AYP finding for improvement (i.e., "Yes/SH").
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| Subgroup |
AYP determinations are issued yearly based on the performance of all students in the school or district (the "aggregate") and for individual student groups ("subgroups"). Students are included in the aggregate and in each student group to which they belong.
In accordance with NCLB, the Department issues AYP determinations for the following student groups: students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, economically disadvantaged students, and students belonging to racial and ethnic minority groups.
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| Supplemental Educational Services Required |
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 additional, free, academic instruction - or tutoring - called supplemental educational services (SES).
As shown on school AYP reports, the label "Yes" is displayed for Title I schools that must offer SES. (See more information about SES)
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| Title I Status |
An indication of whether a school or district receives federal Title I funds in 2008-09, based on the most recent data collected by the Department. Title I schools and districts that do not make AYP for two or more consecutive years have certain responsibilities under NCLB.
(See our guidance entitled 2008-09 School and District Accountability Status and Required Actions
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| 2007 CPI (Baseline) |
Represents the performance, as measured in terms of the CPI, of students in a given group tested in grades 3-8 and 10 in 2007. Baseline CPIs are displayed separately for ELA and for mathematics. |
| 2008 CPI |
Represents the performance, as measured in terms of the CPI, of students in a given group tested in grades 3-8 and 10 in 2008. CPIs are displayed separately for ELA and for mathematics. |
| "Yes/2%" |
Indicates that the school or district benefited from a flexibility rule granted by the U.S. Department of Education for the 2005-08 AYP reporting years. The label "Yes/2%" is displayed the Performance Met Target column for the Special Education group. |