Report: Half of US Schools Fail Federal Standards; Largest Failure Rate in NCLB Law's 10-Yr. History

The Associated Press website reports that nearly half of America's public schools did not meet federal achievement standards this year -- making it the largest failure rate since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Law took effect a decade ago, according to a national report released today (December 15, 2011).

The Center on Education Policy report shows more than 43,000 schools -- or 48 percent -- did not make "adequate yearly progress" this year. The failure rates range from a low of 11 percent in Wisconsin to a high of 89 percent in Florida.

The findings are far from below the 82 percent failure rate that Education Secretary Arne Duncan predicted earlier this year, but still indicate an alarming trend that Duncan hopes to address by granting states relief from the federal law.

The law requires all states to have every student performing at grade level in math and reading by 2014 -- a goal most educators say is impossible to achieve.