Improving Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for Students with Disabilities

---Stephen Elliott, Ph.D.

Some students with disabilities are not meeting the adequate yearly progress (AYP) requirements of No Child Left Behind (the reauthorization of ESEA - the Elementary and Secondary Education Act). There are statewide, local, and individual efforts and strategies to address this issue and to focus on improving AYP. Some of those may be group efforts in districts, buildings, subject areas, and grade levels. It is also helpful to look at individual student interventions, or smaller group interventions in classrooms. Many of the strategies overlap and are appropriate for students in various disability categories. Strategies are also useful when students with disabilities are preparing to take other standardized tests.

The following resources may be useful in planning efforts targeted at improving AYP for students with disabilities:

Resources from DPI:

• Office of Educational Accountability (OEA)
• Wisconsin Alternate Assessment (WAA) for Students with Disabilities
• Responsive Education for All Children (REACh)
• No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
• WKCE 2005 Test Data - Results by disability category

Local Initiatives (district-wide and within buildings):

• "Let's Start Discovering the Answers": 14 possible targets

Classroom/Individual Students:

• Assistive Technology
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Hearing
• Language and Learning
• Motor/Sensory
• Social/Emotional/Behavioral
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Vision

For questions about this information, contact the Special Education Team at 608-266-1781.

Last updated on 6/17/2008 2:27:14 PM