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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Education has accepted Utah's method for testing students to evaluate whether its schools are in compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Henry L. Johnson, assistant U.S. education secretary, said in a letter Monday that the state's system includes the proper amount of academic content for language arts, math and science.
The letter also praised the state for its testing of students with disabilities.
Patti Harrington, state schools superintendent, said, "What the federal government is saying is the assessments are valuable and useful in assessing student's knowledge."
The letter did make some recommendations for improvement.
As more computer-based tests become available, Utah must more rigorously compare results from electronic versions of tests with the paper and pencil versions.
It said the state also needs to tweak the science exam for students with disabilities.
But Harrington said she is "thrilled" Utah's tests have been deemed sufficient by the federal government.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
