That's because the State Office of Education won't publicize the results of last year's testing, and whether the scores meet NCLB standards, until Sept. 30, after schools have had 30 days to appeal the results.

That defeats the purpose of NCLB. But then, that purpose is more about undermining public schools than about helping them. NCLB requires that schools receiving federal funds that don't fulfill annual yearly progress criteria for two years must offer to bus children to another school, at no cost to families. That drains funds from struggling schools.

Parents aren't likely to switch schools after their children have started the year and are beginning to settle in with a teacher and schedule. But even in a state where reports come out months earlier, very few parents switch. Only about 2 percent of eligible students nationwide chose to be bused in the 2006-07 school year.

Utah education officials are not apologizing. They explain that as long as students are tested in the final weeks of the school year, results will be released to the public after the following school year has started.

Utah's tests are designed to assess what children have learned over the course of the year, and analyzing such a huge amount of data takes time. We understand that. And, frankly, we're not too concerned that being tardy violates the intent of NCLB: to get children out of schools that are "failing" by NCLB's definition.

"Failure" is relative. Under NCLB's draconian rules, schools can be categorized as failing if only one student has a sub-standard test score in any one of 40 categories. Few of the 225 "failing" Utah schools missed the mark across the board. Most only failed in one category, and 665 schools reached the federal standard in all 40 categories.

We agree with the Legislature when it voted a few years ago that Utah should follow its own standards and policies when they conflict with NCLB.

Testing - how, when and how often to do it, and whether it takes too much time away from teaching - is a hot topic. Utah education officials should decide what's best for Utah children and stick to it, regardless of NCLB.