No Educator Left Behind is a series providing answers from the U.S. Department of Education to questions about the federal No Child Left Behind Act and how it will affect educators. If you have a question about No Child Left Behind, send an e-mail to Ellen Delisio, and we will submit your question to the Department of Education.

QUESTION:

Why are schools that miss one adequate yearly progress target treated the same as those that miss many?

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

Adequate yearly progress (AYP) is a framework of accountability that is intended to help schools identify the areas they need to focus on in order to improve the academic achievement of all students. Additional resources and technical assistance are provided to schools that are unable to make AYP, regardless of how many targets they miss. It will undoubtedly be easier for a school that misses the mark in only one category to address the problem. However, if a school is unable to correct the problems that are preventing students from making academic gains, then parents should have the right to determine if that school is providing the appropriate learning environment for their children.

Read previous questions and answers in our No Educator Left Behind archive.