| AYP as a temporary substitute for value-added |
6/8/04 5:37 AM |
Author:
Jim Peyser
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The whole point of NCLB is to ensure that all students, especially those who have historically been deemed "at risk," are given the opportunities and supports they need to achieve academic success. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate that proficiency or better remains the target for at-risk students. Charters schools are not alone in wrestling with the sometimes onerous implications of working with at-risk students under NCLB. While a disproportionate number of charter schools specifically target these challenging populations, many district schools serve large numbers of these same students. In evaluating school performance—especially for schools that do not serve a broad cross-section of students—value added is a more useful metric than AYP, and over time NCLB should encourage states to move toward measurement systems that can track individual student learning gains. In the meantime, AYP is a reasonable, albeit imperfect and hopefully temporary substitute.
Posted as a reply to:
Achieving Compliance while Serving At-Risk Students by Bob Montgomery 
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