Oregon Public Broadcasting

A growing number of Oregon’s schools met federal benchmarks, according to new figures released Tuesday. But as Rob Manning reports, more struggling schools have made a federal watch list.

The No Child Left Behind law requires all public school students to pass mandated tests by 2014.

States tend to ratchet up slowly to that 100 percent goal. Oregon's requirement, both this year and last, was that schools get about 60 percent of students to pass the tests.

The second time around didn’t help some schools. Schools missing for the same reason for consecutive years go on an “improvement list,” and could face sanctions. Oregon’s list grew from 42 schools a year ago to more than 70 this year.

Over all, though, more grade schools made the threshold this year.  And where not even one-third of high schools made the mark a year ago – more than 40 percent made it this year.

But state education spokesman, Jake Weigler says the bar will keep rising.

Jake Weigler: “They can’t sit still. We gotta keep moving ahead toward the goals of 2014.”

Again, that’s when schools are expected to have 100 percent of their students at benchmark.