Differences in how states calculate AYP (adequate yearly progress) abound. Does that make one state better than another? Worse? Or is each state doing its best to be "normal"? States make decisions based on the information at hand, and then they move ahead, trying to make the best of those decisions. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, each state defines what constitutes a full academic year; sets the rigor of state standards for math, language arts/reading, and science; selects the assessments to be used; sets the cut scores for proficiency for each; determines which "other academic indicators" will be used; and sets the performance standard for each. Sum up all of these activities, and you have "normal" for each state. But put them all together for all the states, and that's a whole lot of variation. This article describes variations of differences from state to state.