School progress up slightly in South Dakota

PIERRE, S.D. - The South Dakota Education Department says 95 percent of the state's public school districts made adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law, up 1 percent from the previous year.
About 64,400 students in grades 3-8 and 11 were tested to measure progress. Student proficiency grew to 76 percent in both reading and math, up from 75 percent.
School districts or individual schools that do not make adequate progress for two consecutive years are considered in "school improvement." The 2010 report shows 98 schools, or about 15 percent, on that list. Nine schools made it off the list.
The Education Department says 99 percent of core content classes taught in the state were led by teachers deemed "highly qualified" under federal law. That has risen from 89 percent since the first year of measurement, in 2003.