Differences in state goals mean more schools facing NCLB sanctions

Half of states' schools face steep achievement requirements

USA Today May 20, 2008

States that, in response to No Child Left Behind, set low requirements for school improvement in early years hoping that changes in instructional methods would result in large gains in later years are now facing the need for schools to make significant improvements to meet the proficiency requirements of NCLB. More than 10% of public schools are currently missing the improvement benchmarks, and that number is expected to increase at a rapid pace because of the need to make larger achievement gains in states that did not set goals for improved achievement that were steady over time.