This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Utah and other states have long complained, argued and protested the federal No Child Left Behind education-reform law, former President George W. Bush's signature domestic policy achievement.

So, after much cajoling, educators and legislators in the Beehive State finally have what they asked for: a pass from the U.S. Department of Education. But, as the saying goes: Be careful what you ask for. Sometimes, what you thought you wanted turns out to be something you weren't prepared for.

Utah should be prepared to do its own measurements of students' progress. It will have to, since the Adequate Yearly Progress standards of NCLB have been eliminated for Utah. Schools here can ignore the federal mandate that 100 percent of students — no matter their race, ethnicity, income level, proficiency in English or disability — reach grade level in reading and math by 2014. That was the unrealistic goal of NCLB, under which AYP was measured and penalties dished out for failure.

But the waiver granted to Utah and 23 other states doesn't absolve the state of meeting standards. It simply allows the state to improve student achievement in its own way. Utah and other states that have adopted the Common Core Standards — which are not a creation of the federal government — will have a useful way to measure Utah students' accomplishments against students in other states.

Opponents of the Common Core are flat wrong when they worry it will diminish local control.

In exchange for the waiver, Utah had to promise to implement a plan to address college and career readiness for all students, school accountability, teacher evaluation and administrative burdens on schools.

Based on all students' academic growth and achievement in language arts, math and science, the new state system will designate high-performing schools as "reward schools." The lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in the state will be identified as "priority schools," with the next lowest-performing 10 percent being known as "focus schools."

And there will be penalties: Schools in the lower tiers will have to take steps, sometimes drastic steps, to improve. Finally, all schools will be given a letter grade, as dictated by state law.

NCLB didn't make sense for Utah's rural schools. And its draconian focus on testing and its punitive approach were counterproductive. Utah can do better — and now it has that chance.