The Nebraska State Department of Education released data indicating that 7 out of 10 students scored proficient in math and science and 3 out of every 4 students met state reading standards. This information was released in light of federal reporting indicating many Nebraska schools were, in fact, in need of improvement under NCLB.

In lieu of federal policies which the Nebraska State Education Commissioner deemed “flawed and misleading,” the state is now pursuing a new accountability system – A QuESTT. The A QuESTT system incorporates school data to determine a school’s quality based on different criteria such as how schools transition students from grade to grade, how many career-ready students graduate from a school, and the availability of parent and community programs. The State Board of Education is expected to consider implementation of this new accountability measure by the end of 2014.