Lynch School of Education

Abstracts from Teaching Exceptional Children (TEC)

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TITLE:
The No Child Left Behind Act, Adequate Yearly Progress, and Students with Disabilities

VOLUME 38 ISSUE 4

AUTHOR(S):
Mitchell L. Yell, University of South Carolina
Antonis Katsiyannis, Clemson University
James Shriner, University of Illinois

DOCUMENT TYPE: Article

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ABSTRACT:
No Child Left Behind is a complex and controversial law that was passed as a reaction to the low academic achievement exhibited by so many public school students in America. This powerful law is profoundly changing the ways educators work with students in general and special education by holding states, school districts, principals, and teachers accountable for making meaningful improvements in student’s academic performance and by requiring the use of scientifically-based practices. Perhaps, the most significant and far reaching aspect of this law is the requirement that 100% of public school students must meet proficiency standards in reading and mathematics by the 2013-2014 school year. These proficiency standards require that public schools show student progress by meeting target proficiency standards every year. These targets, which are set by the states, are referred to as adequate yearly progress (AYP). In this article, we review the major purpose of NCLB, explain the AYP mandate, discuss how AYP will affect students with disabilities and offer recommendations to teachers, administrators, and teacher trainers to help educators meet the AYP requirements of NCLB.