The Bush|Brogan A+ Plan
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized tests. AYP has been identified as one of the sources of controversy surrounding George W. Bush administration's Elementary and Secondary Education Act Private schools do not have to make AYP.
Requirements
All kindergarten through twelfth grade schools are required to demonstrate AYP in the areas of reading/language arts, mathematics, and either graduation rates, for high schools and districts, or attendance rates for elementary and middle/junior high schools.Currently, schools are allowed to appeal their AYP findings to their State Education Agency and/or the U.S. Department of Education, if applicable. Appeals have been made in account of standardized test results and data collected by testing companies such as Educational Testing Service.
Measurments
The NCLB Act requires that states use standardized assessments in order to measure AYP. These assessments allow State Education Agencies to develop target starting goals for AYP. After those are developed, states must increase student achievement in gradual increments in order for 100 percent of the students to become proficient on state assessments by the 2013-14 school year. Once those percentages were determined, each State Department of Education is required to ensure the standards are the same for each public school, each district, and each subgroup of students.
Education Goal:
Old Education Goals:
Goal 1: SCHOOL READINESS- By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn.
Goal 2: SCHOOL COMPLETION- By the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent.
Goal 3: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP- By the year 2000, all students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated understanding in challenging subject matter will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our Nation's modern economy.
Goal 4: TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT- By the year 2000, the Nation's teaching force will have access to programs for the continued improvement of their professional skills and the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century.
Goal 5: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE- By the year 2000, United States students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement.
Goal 6: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING- By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Goal 7: SAFE, DISCIPLINED, AND ALCOHOL- AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS- By the year 2000, every school in the United States will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.
Goal 8: PARENTAL PARTICIPATION- By the year 2000, every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children.
Revising Education Goals:
Education For All is aiming to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015. The movement was launched in 1990 at the World Conference on Education for All in Thailand. There, representatives of the international community agreed to "universalize primary education and massively reduce illiteracy by the end of the decade". In 2000, ten years later, the international community met again, and took stock of many countries being far from having reached this goal. They affirmed their commitment to achieving Education for All by the year 2015, and identified six education goals which aim to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.
New Goals:
Goal 1: Expand early childhood care and education
Goal 2: Provide free primary education for all
Goal 3: Promote learning and life skills for young people and adults
Goal 4: Increase adult literacy by 50 per cent
Goal 5: Achieve gender parity by 2005, gender equality by 2015
Goal 6: Improve the quality of education
Raising Standards for Educators
High Standards for Educators
Teacher quality has more impact on student performance than any other factor, according to a variety of research, which is why the way we prepare teachers is fundamental to education reform. The teacher test results reveal much about higher-education institutions' success at preparing their students to become future teachers, and also about the quality of secondary-school preparation for incoming freshmen aspiring to be teachers. In short, they offer another important piece of data to help K-12 public education and higher-education institutions evaluate themselves. Given the level of most teacher tests in this country, the state should not scrap higher expectations and teacher testing on the grounds that they discriminate against minorities, as MTEL critics may suggest. Instead, an examination of pass/fail rates should be used to help raise expectations and help pass rates among various demographic subgroups. The Department of Education carefully looks over all state-authorized tests - including the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure - for cultural and other types of wrongness before they are administered. State unfairness committees review test objectives, test items, language, and content to ensure that they are valid, impartial, and unfairness-free. National Evaluation Systems Inc., the company that designs and administers the Massachusetts tests, also does teacher testing work in California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Texas.
Standards Development
Standards are developed by a committee of outstanding educators who are broadly representative of accomplished professionals in their field. While the majority of each committee is made up of classroom teachers, other members may include experts in child development, teacher education and relevant disciplines. The committee provides recommendations to the National Board and advises those involved in developing the corresponding assessment.
