What does adequate yearly progress (AYP) measure?

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measures the minimum level of improvement that schools must achieve to meet federal education standards. This concept was established as part of the No Child Left Behind Act to hold schools accountable for student performance and to ensure that all students, particularly those in disadvantaged groups, make progress in their learning. AYP specifically looks at whether schools meet certain benchmarks in standardized testing and other academic indicators over time, determining if they are successfully elevating student achievement to meet these requirements.

This focus on minimum improvement levels helps to create a standardized way to evaluate school performance, ensuring that all schools are working toward raising the academic outcomes of their students effectively. Other choices do not reflect this goal; for example, while the advancement of state academic standards is important, it does not directly relate to the measurable progress that schools need to achieve under AYP. Similarly, measuring the performance of individual students or the growth rate of student populations does not encapsulate the overall accountability that AYP requires of schools in relation to meeting federal guidelines.