86% of Alabama Schools Make Annual Goals

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - More Alabama schools have met
educational goals set under No Child Left Behind, with 86 percent
meeting all benchmarks.
    Alabama education officials announced the 2009 Adequate Yearly
Progress results Monday. The state’s performance was a 3 percent
improvement over 2008.
    The state also had fewer high-poverty schools singled out for
school improvement, which requires more supervision from state
officials to make sure plans to boost achievement are in place and
are being implemented.
    Superintendent Joe Morton said the state’s performance is
especially notable because the improvements are coming as standards
continue to rise.