Resource Annex

"Aiming for AYP," by Anand Vaishnav (Harvard Education Letter, January/February 2005: Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 5-6).: A short article about the "educational tradeoffs" that the Brockton, Massachusetts school system has made in its attempt to meet adequate yearly progress.

Devil is in the Details: Rural-Sensitive Best Practices for Accountability under No Child Left Behind [Policy brief], by Lorna Jimerson (Washington, DC: Rural School and Community Trust, 2004). www.ruraledu.org/docs/devildetails.pdf: Many aspects of AYP are especially challenging for rural schools and districts. This policy brief discusses those issues and offers several ideas for effectively addressing them.

"A Framework for Assessing the Impact of Education Reforms on School Capacity: Insights from Studies of High-Stakes Accountability Initiatives," by Betty Malen & Jennifer King Rice (Educational Policy, November 2004: Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 631-660).: This technical research study examines how NCLB and other educational reform policies, affect a school's capacity to change.

Making Sense of Adequate Yearly Progress [Topical summary], by Wendell Anderson (Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2004). www.nwrel.org/planning/reports/ayp/AYP.pdf: A first step for those trying to understand current accountability systems, this article is especially good for parents.

Making the Grade in AYP: What Your School Can Learn from This Year's Results, by Michael A. Resnick (Alexandria, VA: National School Board Association, 2004). www.nsba.org/site/docs/34700/34655.pdf: An AYP primer for school board members, this article includes a discussion of the many variations in state policies.

"Alternative Approaches to Measuring Adequate Yearly Progress," by Robert L. Linn, Eva L. Baker & Joan L. Herman (CRESST Line: Newsletter of the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, Winter 2003: pp. 1, 4-6). http://cresst96.cse.ucla.edu/products/newsletters/CLwinter2003_draft.pdf: This online newsletter summarizes a 2002 conference that looked at many of the controversial aspects of AYP, and offered some alternatives.

Holding High Hopes: How High Schools Respond to State Accountability Policies [Policy brief], by Margaret E. Goertz and Diane Massell (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania, Consortium for Policy Research in Education, 2005). www.cpre.org/Publications/rb42.pdf: An in-depth look at how AYP and other accountability policies specifically affect high schools.

Requirements for Measuring Adequate Yearly Progress [Policy brief], by Robert L. Linn (Los Angeles, CA: University of California at Los Angeles, Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, 2003). http://cresst96.cse.ucla.edu/products/newsletters/policybrief6.pdf: This policy brief summarizes the basics of AYP and the challenges they present for traditionally low-performing schools.