Statistics Agency Gauging State ‘Proficiency’ Thresholds

The statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Education is conducting a study to see how states’ definitions of student academic proficiency compare with the way it is spelled out by the prominent national test known as “the nation’s report card.”

The goal of the study is to use that test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, as a “yardstick” to judge the different state proficiency thresholds, said Mark S. Schneider, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which is overseeing the project.

“For the first time, we would have a way of comparing states’ proficiency standards,” Mr. Schneider said in an interview. “Everybody’s been wanting something like this,” he added. “I’m very anxious to get...