State board won’t raise proficiency targets
Topeka ? Kansas State Board of Education members decided Tuesday to wait at least another year before increasing the percentage of students who must meet proficiency levels on standardized tests under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The federal law requires states to annually increase the percentage of students who are proficient – a target defined by each state – as they work toward a goal of having all students proficient in reading and math by 2014.
But Tuesday, the board decided to leave proficiency targets unchanged from 2005.
The board had been expected to release a list of schools that could face sanctions for failing to make adequate progress on state tests for two years or more.
Schools that receive federal money to serve low-income students face sanctions if they fail to make adequate gains on the tests.
The severity of the sanctions increases each year.