August 25, 2008

LANSING – Eight out of 10 public schools in Michigan made Adequate Yearly Progress this past school year despite a big jump in the goals, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

The state’s EducationYES! Report Cards were released publicly today for Michigan elementary, middle, and high schools, along with the annual report on each school’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.

“While this shows that all schools are not where they need to be, or where we want them to be, 80 percent are meeting the higher goals and helping students achieve,” said State Board of Education President Kathleen N. Straus.

The total number of schools making AYP is fewer than the previous school year – from 3,153 in the 2006-07 school year to 3,003 in 2007-08 – noted the Department of Education. Two main factors went into that decline: a change in the graduation rate calculation and an increase in the percent of students needing to be proficient on the state’s standardized tests.

The percent of students needing to be proficient on the MEAP and Michigan Merit Exam (MME) was raised by an average of 10 percent, in order to be on trajectory to the NCLB target of 100 percent proficiency by the 2013-14 school year.

While achievement rates on the MEAP and MME trended upward overall across the state, some schools did not make the gains necessary to meet the new requirement.

“The bar was raised this past year,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. “We asked our schools to make a big jump.  Some made it, yet some didn’t get the whole way and they still have more work to do.”

As schools continue to coordinate and implement the state’s curriculum standards into their instruction, more schools will continue to improve, Flanagan noted.

“The bar will be raised again in two years, so schools must continue to improve and find ways to reach all kids and make sure they get the quality education they deserve,” he said. “We can’t afford to rest. We must keep our foot on the gas pedal and not let up.”

A new high school graduation rate calculation went into effect this year as well, which provided more exact results that caused more schools not to meet the 80 percent graduation rate threshold to make AYP.

Local school districts also receive AYP reports, based upon the AYP status of their school buildings. Over 98 percent of K-12 school districts made AYP this past year.

Schools that don’t make AYP for two or more consecutive years are placed on the federally-required sanctions list. The sanctions get progressively severe with each additional year a school does not make AYP, ranging from having to provide school choice and transportation to another school, to tutorial services for the students, to eventual school restructuring.

The number of schools making the sanctions list for the first time (Phase 1) increased this past year, from 118 in 2007 to 185 in 2008. However, the number of schools in nearly all of the other sanctions phases declined in 2008, the result of intense school improvement and curriculum alignment initiatives.

“It is evident that when we focus resources on these critical, high-priority schools it has a positive impact on schools and can help students achieve at higher levels,” said Straus.

The EducationYES! School Report Cards are a compilation of student scores on the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) and Michigan Merit Exam (MME) tests; the MI-Access alternate assessments for students with disabilities; AYP designation; and in various, self-reported, school performance indicators – such as family involvement in the schools, curriculum, student attendance, and professional development for its teachers.

- Michigan School Report Cards
- Guide to Reading School Report Cards
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Michigan 2008 School Report Card Spreadsheet
- Four-Year Cohort Graduation and Dropout Reports (CEPI)