Today’s teachers are expected to take all students to proficient performance on a common set of grade level content standard indicators defined by the state. And schools have started to shift their focus from how well teachers are teaching to how well students are learning.
What is the target?
The critical first step to meeting any instructional target is to understand the target. Since the inception of NCLB, all public schools have state-identified achievement goals as part of NCLB’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets. AYP targets are based on performance on state assessments that measure student proficiency on state content standards in reading/language arts and mathematics. Consequently, understanding the state content standards being assessed and knowing where their students are in relation to those standards is key to schools hitting the target. Educators who don't understand the target can't be counted on to teach the necessary knowledge and skills to students.
The state content standards identify what students are expected to know and be able to do. It is probably obvious, though not always practiced, that classroom instruction and assessment must be aligned with the state content standards if a school wishes to attain state standards. It is critical for staff to understand the state content standards, the state assessments used to measure AYP, and how to recognize proficient student work at their grade level if they are going to fully understand their target.
The 2007 through 2014 AYP achievement targets are shown in the table below.
| Year | Reading Grades 3, 4, 5 |
Mathematics Grades 3, 4, 5 |
Reading Grades 6, 7, 8 |
Mathematics Grades 6, 7, 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 67.2% | 63.9% | 66.3% | 50.0% |
| 2008 | 71.8% | 69.1% | 71.1% | 57.2% |
| 2009 | 76.5% | 74.2% | 75.9% | 64.3% |
| 2010 | 81.2% | 79.4% | 80.8% | 71.4% |
| 2011 | 85.9% | 84.5% | 85.6% | 78.6% |
| 2012 | 90.6% | 89.7% | 90.4% | 85.7% |
| 2013 | 95.3% | 94.8% | 95.2% | 92.9% |
| 2014 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
