This book served me a variety of characters that were quite similar to the kind of teachers I had in school. It's quite hilarious as it is thought provoking and I got to read a copy of it through NetGalley in exchange for this honest take of mine. I reckon teachers or any administrator who is familiar with AYP would enjoy this read, and so would anyone who's ever been in a classroom.

Adequate Yearly Progress is a great tongue in cheek story about working in a school today. The author’s experience in schools is obvious from the stereotypes she portrays to perfection. The over eager assistant principal, the different teachers, the disinterested students, and all the crazy acronyms are all present in today’s school setting. I spent almost a decade working as a school counselor and burned out more from the constant changes in bureaucracy than working with the students. Constant meetings, paperwork, and trainings meant less time supporting the students. This book is perfect if you work in a school. And if you don’t it’s still great to see how impossible we’ve made teaching as a profession. Teachers are under paid, underappreciated, and over blamed for society’s problems.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of Adequate Yearly Progress. What a great first novel to review! As an educator I was drawn to the title because of course AYP is an acronym that we spend a lot of time with. The author talked the talk of someone who has walked the walk. Her characters were so right on that I laughed out loud! The accurate depictions of teachers in staff meetings, in the copy room, and at happy hour were just perfect! The staff development specialist, 'a heavily accessorized, well connected former teacher,' who tried desperately to capture her audience with inane gimmicks that they could take back to the classroom was spot on! I enjoyed the diversity in the teachers as they struggled with the constant onslaught of best practice, mandated by outside agencies that had dubious irons in the fire.
I enjoyed this book and will recommend it to my teacher friends. It would be a fun book club pick, and not just for educators. I think the general public will gain a new appreciation for where and how some of the latest buzz words come into play, and how quality teaching can be overlooked by someone who is just going by test scores. So much to talk about!

This is a book for anyone who is sick of movies where teachers are either 22-year-old, self-satisfied heroes or so comically irresponsible they should never be around kids in the first place. The teachers in this book are human beings struggling with aspects of a difficult job and difficulties in their own lives. It's refreshing. And it's a great, fast-paced read.