Posted: 5:57 AM- The federal government has again rejected Utah's request to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind by measuring student growth over time.
    Utah education officials had hoped to use the state's system for measuring school success, U-PASS, to participate in an expanded program allowing states to satisfy NCLB by measuring student growth in math and reading. Now, NCLB measures school success not by student growth but by whether or not enough students score proficient or better on state math and reading tests.
    U-PASS was rejected because it doesn't require all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 like NCLB does, according to an April 17 letter to State Superintendent Patti Harrington from the U.S. Department of Education.
    The feds also rejected U-PASS because it groups math, reading and science together instead of measuring progress in them separately, and it doesn't measure progress of student ethnic, income and ability groups separately. Instead, the state system lumps those groups together into one "subgroup."
    State Associate Superintendent Judy Park said she's not surprised the federal government rejected Utah's request. It turned down a similar request in 2006.
    She said Utah is not willing to change its system so all students are expected to score proficient in math and reading by
Advertisement

2014.
    "That's not a realistic goal," Park said. "It's not an attainable goal right now."