More Vermont schools miss No Child Left Behind goals

BURLINGTON, Vt.—Nearly 40 percent of Vermont public schools failed to meet academic standards set under the federal No Child Left Behind Act for this year.

According to the ratings released Monday, the number of schools that did not meet the goals has more than tripled from 2007 to 116.

But education officials were not surprised. They said that the targets for schools to reach have shifted as the federal law tries to meet the goal of 100 percent student proficiency in reading and math by 2014.

Vermont Education Commissioner Richard Cate said some schools had improved, but just not enough to meet the new higher standards.

Only six schools moved out of the schools needing improvement category, which added several new schools. A total of 39 schools had missed the goals at least two years in a row and face potential sanctions.

But Vermont has not enacted the more dramatic sanctions under the federal law such as taking over a poorly performing school.

Cate said although flawed, the No Child Left Behind law is giving schools important data to determine what is and isn't working for students. But the goal of all student proficiency within the next six years is unrealistic, he said.

"In a perfect world it would be," he said. "The problem is, we don't live in a perfect world."

Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com