REDMOND, Ore. - The Oregon Department of Education released this week the preliminary Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report required by No Child Left Behind (NCLB).  

AYP is a key provision of NCLB Act signed into law by President George Bush in January 2002.  It is an annual determination of whether schools, districts and states have made progress toward the goal of having all students meets rigorous academic standards by 2014.  Oregon’s statewide reading and math assessment program serves as the basis for calculating AYP in Oregon.

As with other districts in Oregon, a few Redmond schools were identified as not meeting AYP for the 2006-07 school year.  The preliminary results indicate that one elementary (MA Lynch) and all four secondary schools (Elton Gregory Middle, Obsidian Middle, Brown Alternative, and Redmond High) did not meet the requirements. 

Schools that receive Title I funding, such as Lynch Elementary, face sanctions if they do not meet AYP in the same content area for two or more years.  As this is the second year Lynch did not meet the requirements, they are obligated to notify parents and offer students the option of attending a public school in the district that is making AYP. 

In order to meet AYP under Oregon’s NCLB plan, 50% of the students must meet state English/language arts standards and 49% of the students must meet math standards for all student groups this year.  At least 95% of the school’s population must take the tests. Schools must also meet an attendance or graduation requirement to be identified as meeting AYP. 

The larger and more diverse a school is, the more challenging it is to make AYP.  The challenges arise because students must be identified and have their progress measured and reported by specific populations: race and ethnicity, economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities and Limited English Proficiency.  As AYP achievement standards are increased by 10% every two years between now and 2014, all districts will be confronted with the challenge of getting all students to required levels of proficiency. 

“We welcome this information and plan on taking a disciplined systemic approach this year to improve student achievement,” states Superintendent Vickie Fleming.  “We will be aligning our curriculum to state standards, assessing student progress on a regular basis in the classroom, supporting improved instructional strategies with teachers, and using data to drive all of our decisions on student progress, school improvement and resource allocation.”