Florida rated a C-plus for difficulty on reading and math tests used to meet requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act last year, a study released Monday showed. Florida's score was good enough for a 12th-place tie in the national study by Stanford University's Hoover Institution, a well-funded conservative think tank. The report rated proficiency standards for fourth and eighth grade tests for what the federal government calls the Nation's Report Card, which compares achievement levels among states. State Department of Education spokesman Tom Butler said Florida has been tightening its standards while the study shows many other states have reduced theirs. NCLB requires all students to be proficient in math and reading by 2014, but lets each state set its own standards for measuring annual progress. Last year, only a third of Florida's schools made adequate yearly progress under the federal law, while many states with lower standards did much better. Neighboring Georgia, for example, was one of three states that received the lowest grade, an F, for its proficiency standards. Yet 82 percent of Georgia schools made adequate yearly progress last year -- more than twice Florida's percentage. Those kind of differences have drawn complaints from Florida officials that the federal assessment system penalizes states with higher standards.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080512/APN/805120951