Report: half of US public schools fail to meet federal standards under No Child Left Behind

ATLANTA (AP) - A new report shows that nearly half of America's public schools didn't meet federal achievement standards this year, the largest failure rate since the much-criticized No Child Left Behind Law took effect a decade ago.

The report by the Center on Education Policy shows that more than 43,000 schools — or 48 percent — did not make "adequate yearly progress" this year. The failure rates range from a low of 11 percent in Wisconsin to a high of 89 percent in Florida.

The study's findings are far below the 82 percent failure that Education Secretary Arne Duncan predicted earlier this year. Duncan and others are trying to address by granting states relief from the federal law.

Last month, 11 states applied for waivers from the law.