A federal study shows that nearly a third of the states lowered academic proficiency standards in recent years, the New York Times and other sources report. While the step helps schools stay ahead of sanctions under the No Child Left Behind law, it’s likely to fuel debate on whether uniform national standards are needed.

Under the No Child law, signed in 2002, all schools must bring 100 percent of students to the proficient level on states’ reading and math tests by 2014, and schools that fall short of rising annual targets face sanctions. Facing this challenge, the study found that some states had been redefining proficiency down, allowing a lower score on a state test to qualify as proficient. Fifteen states lowered their proficiency standards in fourth- or eighth-grade reading or math from 2005 to 2007: Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Eight that raised one or more standards were Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Louis Fabrizio, a director at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, said that under the No Child law, states face a dilemma. “When you set standards, do you want to show success under N.C.L.B. by having higher percentages of students at proficiency, in which case you’ll set lower standards?” Mr. Fabrizio asked. “Or do you want to do the right thing for kids, by setting them higher so they’re comparable with our global competitors?”

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Filed under: K-12 Education News