The board decided Friday against setting a single proficiency standard for each subject and instead chose a stepped system.

After meeting basic curricular proficiency standards, students may choose from the wide variety of elective courses that will meet their individual interests and needs.

In Tennessee, however, a student can meet the state's proficiency standard with a 230, a score well below even the basic level on the national exam.

Its proficiency standards corresponded to 207 on the national test.

The federal bill permits a state to define its own proficiency standards, provided the same standard applies to all students in a grade.

Letting states set their own proficiency standards would make national comparisons meaningless, they said, and create an incentive to aim low, to avoid sanctions.

Some colleges enroll students with freshman skills assessment test scores close to the proficiency standard.

They also called for measuring educational progress by considering the individual records of students, not just the total number of students meeting proficiency standards.

She punctuates conversations about proficiency standards with "Cool!"

Substitute teachers taught hundreds of classes, and the district had not met any of the state's 27 proficiency standards.