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The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Sec. 1111 (b)(F), requires that "each state shall establish a timeline for adequate yearly progress. The timeline shall ensure that not later than 12 years after the 2001-2002 school year, all students in each group described in subparagraph (C)(v) will meet or exceed the State's standards." These timelines are developed by state education agencies working under guidance from the federal government.
NCLB is the law used as the primary statute governing the federal government's role in education, but it hasn't always been what it is today. NCLB was first passed during the Johnson administration in 1965 under the name the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Act's name was changed in 2001 when it underwent cosmetic changes with the work of President George W. Bush.
Even with its changes, NCLB remains similar to its original state. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) states that its purpose was to strengthen and improve educational quality and educational opportunities in the Nation's elementary and secondary schools. Much of this was stated to be done through financial assistance to local educational agencies for the education of children of low-income families or with disabilities. This was to improve their educational programs to ensure equal education.This is still a goal of NCLB and AYP.
According to the Department of Education, AYP is a diagnostic tool that determines how schools need to improve and where financial resources should be allocated. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige wrote, "The statute gives States and local educational agencies significant flexibility in how they direct resources and tailor interventions to the needs of individual schools identified for improvement... schools are held accountable for the achievement of all students, not just average student performance."
The No Child Left Behind Act makes provisions for schools that do not demonstrate adequate yearly progress. Those that do not meet AYP for two years in a row are identified as "schools in need of improvement" and are subject to immediate interventions by the State Education Agency in their state. First steps include technical assistance and then, according to the Department of Education, "more serious corrective actions" occur if the school fails to make Adequate Yearly Progress.
Read more about this topic: Adequate Yearly Progress