The Harrisonburg City School Board praised its success in its division's attempt to meet Federal Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, required by the No Child Left Behind Act.

AYP is determined for each school and division by last spring's SOL tests, based on 29 different benchmarks that must all be passed for a school or division to make the grade.

Though two of the six schools in the district did not make AYP, a closer look at the data shows they were were actually around 15 SOL questions within four subgroups short of meeting the criteria.

The school district did not receive federal sanctions because they did not have any school that did not make AYP in the same subject area for two years in a row.

The school board agrees that being held accountable is a good thing, but the ever-increasing pass rate in the tests does not adequately address individual child needs.