Fewer Schools Make AYP as NJ Standards Rise

The number of New Jersey schools that meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards mandated under the federal No Child Left Behind Act fell in 2009, as the state requirements for passage got tougher.

Statewide, 1,420 schools, or 63.9 percent, made AYP in the spring 2009 assessments; last year 1,554, or 70.2 percent, of schools achieved that standing.

State officials said in a statement that the decline in the number of schools making AYP was essentially due to two factors: first, an increase in the number of questions that must be answered correctly to achieve proficiency, and second, increases over the last two years in the percentages of students in every subgroup who are required to achieve proficiency on the tests in order for the school to make AYP.

The New Jersey Department of Education released the data on Jan. 14.

For each test at each grade level, there is a benchmark that represents the percentage of the total student body and of each subgroup that must score as “proficient” for the school to make AYP. For instance, in the 11th Grade, 85 percent of students must be proficient in language arts and 74 percent must be proficient in math. (Previously 79 percent needed to pass the language arts assessment and 64 percent to pass the mathematics assessment.)

Scores are reported for the total student body, as well as for several subgroups of students, such as limited English proficient, special education, economically disadvantaged and various racial/ethnic categories.

Schools are rated on 40 indicators that reflect the number of tests; the number of grade levels at which the tests are administered; the number of student subgroups at each of those grade levels; and the student participation rate. A school that does not make AYP in just one of the 40 indicators is deemed as not making adequate yearly progress.

The number of schools on the NJDOE’s Schools in Need of Improvement list, schools that have missed AYP for two or more years in a row, increased from 440 in 2008-2009 to 460 in 2009-2010.

Barbara Gantwerk, assistant commissioner for student services, noted that New Jersey students are consistently among the nation’s top scorers on the National Assessement for Educational Progress tests, the only assessments for which state-by-state comparisons can be made.

NJDOE has more information and test score data available for each district in the state on its Web site. To find the information, go to NJDOE News section and select the news release dated Jan.14, 2010. Scroll down to the bottom of the release to choose from any of the several relevant links that are listed.

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