State releases No Child Left Behind school progress reports

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The state has released its overall Adequate Yearly Progress Reports for the 2009-2010 school year, which are required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

According to the state Department of Education and Early Development, almost 60 percent of Alaska’s public schools made adequate yearly progress under NCLB, while 59.8 percent of schools made adequate yearly progress in student proficiency under federal rules.

The department says that represents an increase over the previous year of 3.6 percentage points. It also noted that 42 schools that struggled in the past have now made AYP for two consecutive years, and no longer face consequences under NCLB.

The statewide high-school graduation rate remained at 67.5 percent.