AYP Glass Half Full for States

The percentage of the nation's schools that failed to make adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act during the 2010-11 school year hit nearly 50 percent, according to a recent report by the Center on Education Policy —far lower than the 82 percent U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan warned of last year in trying to spur Congress to rewrite the law.

Mr. Duncan testified before Congress last March that "four out of five schools in America may not meet their goals under NCLB by next year. The consequences under the current law are very clear: States and districts all across America may have to intervene in more and more schools each year, implementing the exact same interventions regardless of schools' individual needs."

At the time, education policy experts on both sides of the political aisle were critical of Mr. Duncan's estimate, which some said would arouse undue fear and damage the Department of Education's credibility. ( "Duncan's Alarm on 'Failing' Schools Raises Eyebrows," ...