INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — More Indiana schools and districts met yearly federal benchmarks required under the No Child Left Behind law, according to Indiana Department of Education data released Tuesday.

About 54 percent of schools and 84 percent of districts met federal yearly progress goals in 2007 — an improvement over 2006. Locally, both Greensburg Community School and Decatur County Community School districts met adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals, however individual schools may need some attention. North Decatur Elementary, South Decatur Jr./Sr. High School and Greensburg Junior High did not meet all federal goals according to data released Tuesday.

Progress is determined not only on average state testing scores but on the performance of groups of students, such as minorities or those with disabilities.

Of the 846 schools that failed to meet progress goals in 2007, more than a third missed the mark in only one category, said Suellen Reed, the state’s superintendent for public instruction. Both North elementary and Greensburg junior high fell into this group, missing the goal in one special education category.

For example, Fort Wayne Community Schools said Lincoln Elementary would have made adequate yearly progress if just one special education student had answered just one more test question correctly.

“These are teachers and parents and students who know there’s progress, but because they didn’t meet the bar because a fraction of a test was not achieved, they didn’t make AYP,” said Fort Wayne Superintendent Wendy Robinson.

Educators have long complained that the No Child Left Behind act, passed in 2001, treats schools the same no matter how close they come to meeting benchmarks. But a new federal pilot program will give 10 states the flexibility to assign different consequences to schools based on how far they are from goals. Indiana will apply, Reed said.

The pilot program will allow states to focus money and resources on “chronic underperforming schools” that need the most help, said Ray Simon, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

“It allows the state, and in turn the school district, to concentrate on that core group and get them turned around,” said Simon, who was in Indianapolis to discuss the program.

Indiana has 229 schools in some phase of “improvement status” after failing to meet AYP for at least two years.

“About 50 of those schools really need intensive help,” Reed said. “If we can concentrate our resources and our efforts on those 50, then we’ll really be able to make some changes there.”

Indiana’s overall progress in 2007 was encouraging, Reed said. About 54 percent of schools and 84 percent of districts met AYP, compared to 52 percent of schools and 72 percent of districts in 2006.

“We’re pleased with that,” Reed said. “It’s not as much progress as we would really like, but we are headed in the right direction.”

Progress data for all schools and corporations can be found on the Department of Education’s Web site at: www.doe.in.gov/ayp

Information on the federal “differentiated accountability” pilot program can be found online at: www.ed.gov