Schools

State lags in No Child goals, but progress still praised

TALLAHASSEE - U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on Tuesday praised strides Florida's public schools have made to improve student achievement even though only a third of them last year met goals set under the federal government's No Child Left Behind Act.

State lawmakers questioned her about that contradiction, resulting from a provision in No Child Left Behind letting states set their own goals for meeting adequate yearly progress.

"I feel as though Florida in some ways is penalized because we set our standards higher than some other states and feel a frustration in comparing apples to oranges," said House Schools and Learning Council Chairman Joe Pickens, R-Palatka.

Spellings was sympathetic but rejected the idea of setting national standards during the first stop of her national tour to promote reauthorization of No Child Left Behind.

Later, she said the states should continue to set their own standards because they pay for most education expenses.

[Last modified January 9, 2008, 00:25:44]