US gives Mass. waiver from No Child Left Behind

BOSTON -- State education officials are praising President Barack Obama's decision to free Massachusetts from some requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The White House is expected to announce Thursday that Massachusetts is among 10 states to be granted waivers from the 2002 law, which set a goal of having all children proficient in reading and math by 2014.

State education commissioner Mitchell Chester says No Child Left Behind set unrealistic goals for perfection. Under the federal measuring stick known as "Adequate Yearly Progress," 80 percent of Massachusetts schools and 90 percent school districts are failing. He says those figures defy common sense.

Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville (REH'-vul) says the waiver represents a vote of confidence in the state's own five-tiered system for identifying and improving low-performing schools.

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