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AYP is part of the No Child Left Behind Act

The Pierz and Royalton school districts remain in the state of Minnesota's good graces.

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) released the 2008 data regarding Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Pierz and Royalton were the only two area districts to achieve AYP districtwide. This ranks them in the top 51 percent of school districs statewide.

Of the 1,920 Minnesota schools that earned an AYP status in 2008, 983 made AYP compared to 1,191 schools in 2007. There were 937 schools that did not make AYP this year, up from 727 in 2007.

The Little Falls School District, as a whole, did not make AYP in 2008. Of the six schools, Dr. S.G. Knight was the only school that did. Last year, all but the middle school and continuing education reached AYP.

The Royalton Elementary and the Royalton High School both made AYP this year and last year.

The test results in 2007 for Swanville showed it made AYP in both the elementary and the secondary school, but not at Molly Creek. Because of that, the district as a whole did not reach AYP.

None of the Swanville schools or the district as a whole made AYP in 2008.

The Upsala District did not make AYP in 2008, but both schools did individually. In 2007, the district made AYP.

When asked why the district did not make AYP when both its schools did, Superintendent Earl Mathison said, "There are several factors that determine the results. In the area of special education, Upsala did not meet AYP which led the district as a whole to not make AYP." There were less than the required number of special education students in each school to determine progress, but as a district, there were enough to measure. They did not make AYP.

"The state and federal mandated tests don't look at individual progress," said Mathison. "I think it is so much more important to do so, and not lump all students in one group."

Principal of Upsala Schools Tim Pahl said, "NCLB is a great idea if resources are available. But, is it realistic to have 100 percent of the student body pass federal and state mandated tests? We are talking about a very small population that puts us, and others, on the 'list.' Special needs students may have their learning impacted by many things that are occurring in their lives. Every district in the area is doing the best job they can to educate all students to help them reach their potential. More demands are placed on districts while resources continue to decrease."

Both Pioneer Elementary School in Pierz, and the Pierz District as a whole, made AYP in 2008. Healy High School alone did not. In 2007, both schools reached AYP.

Healy High School did not meet proficiency in reading as part of the special education subgroup, yet the district as a whole made AYP.

When asked why Pierz would make AYP when Upsala did not, Superintendent George Weber said that all special education students in Pierz made the minimum requirement to reach AYP, even though those in the high school did not. It was as if the elementary special needs students compensated for the ones in high school. The combination of the scores helped Pierz reach AYP.

The Staples Motley District did not make AYP as a whole, either in 2007 or 2008. The elementary school in Motley and the middle school achieved AYP both years and the elementary school in Staples achieved it in 2007, but not in 2008. The high school did not make AYP in either year.

The Holdingford District made AYP in 2007, as did both the elementary and the high school. In 2008, the elementary school again made AYP, but the secondary school did not. Therefore the district as a whole did not achieve AYP.

AYP is a means of measuring year-to-year student achievement in reading and math. The NCLB has a goal of getting 100 percent of the students proficient in those areas by 2014. The MDE says AYP is structured to ensure all children have the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach proficiency on state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

Schools that receive federal Title I dollars and are not making AYP are identified as being in need of improvement. Depending on the number of years they don't make AYP, schools must offer a range of options to students, including school choice with transportation, supplemental services such as free tutoring and restructuring.

Each year schools and districts are required to test at least 95 percent of all students in grades three - eight and 10 in reading and grades three - eight and 11 in math. Results are reported in eight demographic and special student populations which include white, black, Hispanic, Asian/ Pacific Islander, American Indian, English Language Learners, students with disabilities and those economically disadvantaged.

Failure occurs if not enough students in these populations take the test or fail the test. For each subgroup with at least 40 students in the area of participation, 95 percent of them must participate. If less than 95 percent participates, the school will not make AYP. It is the same for the area of proficiency, except only 20 students are required in each subgroup.

Schools that remain in need of improvement for more than a couple of years will be in corrective action and restructuring. It may lead to a complete reorganization of the school.

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