PPT Slide
This part of the law was designed to send two important messages. First, no student should be sacrificed. Even in relatively high-performing schools, a primary focus of federal resources must be on helping students who are slipping between the cracks. Second, while focusing on ensuring that all students are enabled by their respective schools to meet the standards, states should take into account the starting places of schools when determining how much progress they must make. Those schools that are furthest behind must make more progress in order to catch up.
What does the current law say?
Adequate Yearly Progress "must be defined in a manner that is consistent with guidelines established by the Secretary and results in continuous and substantial yearly improvement of each local educational agency and school sufficient to achieve the goal of all children served under this part meeting the state's proficient and advanced levels of performance, particularly economically disadvantaged and limited-English proficient children." (20 U.S.C. § 6322(b)(2)(B)(I)).
The Transitional Measure of Progress must rely on accurate information about the continuous and substantial yearly academic progress of each school and local education agency. (20 U.S.C. § 6311(b)(B) and USDE guidance).