Making sense of the alphabet soup of AYP

A: It stands for Adequate Yearly Progress and is how schools are held accountable under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Educators shorten that law to NCLB.

Q: How does it work?

A: Schools must reach a certain benchmark on English, reading and math tests every year. Those that succeed are said to have made AYP. Those that fail for consecutive years face increasingly severe sanctions, ranging from allowing students to transfer to better performing schools to hiring a new staff to a possible takeover by the state.

Q: What happens when a school fails?

A: Nothing the first time. Schools that fail for at least two consecutive years are placed in "Needs Improvement" or "NI" status and begin facing penalties. These schools often get extra money, training or other support as they work to improve.

Q: Does missing AYP make a school bad?

A: Not necessarily. Schools are evaluated using a complex formula that includes test scores for all children and subgroups, including minorities, low-income students, children with disabilities and those not fluent in English. An entire school can fail if just one group misses the mark. Some schools have missed AYP because of test scores from a handful of students.

Q: Why did more schools fail this year? This year, 29 percent of schools failed compared to 21 percent when results were released in 2009.

A: The law requires states to gradually increase passing rates so that it reaches 100 percent by 2014. Schools often stumble when more students must pass. Math passing rates increased for elementary and middle schools this year, going from 59.5 percent to 67.6 percent.

Q: What happens next?

A: Principals will send letters notifying parents if their children are eligible for services such as free tutoring or if they can transfer to other schools. Letters typically arrive two weeks before school starts. Parents who have questions should contact their principal.