Federal Researchers Find 15 States Have Lowered Education Standards in Schools. Montana Has Raised Its Standards

A new federal study shows that nearly a third of the states lowered their academic proficiency standards in recent years, a step that helps schools stay ahead of sanctions under the No Child Left Behind law. But lowering standards also confuses parents about how children’s achievement compares with those in other states and countries.

The study, released Thursday, was the first by the federal Department of Education’s research arm to use a statistical comparison between federal and state tests to analyze whether states had changed their testing standards.

The 15 states that lowered one or more standards were Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Eight that raised one or more standards were Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Montana http://www.opi.state.mt.us/ , New York, North Carolina, and Virginia.

By SAM DILLON

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/education/30educ.html?_r=1