More than 700 Minnesota public schools -- more than one-third of the all state schools -- failed to meet their 2007 achievement goals, setting off a cycle of increasing penalties under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The results released Thursday by the state Department of Education led some educators to question whether the goal of having every child proficient in math and reading by 2014 is realistic.

The list of schools that failed to meet "adequate yearly progress" goals for 2007 showed 729 schools falling short of their testing targets. Last year, 483 schools failed to meet their goals. And in 2005, 247 schools fell short.

Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren said officials were disappointed that the list of underperforming schools grew so much but added that the results weren't a surprise because of tougher federal requirements for reporting test results.

Seagren said the state would continue to strive to meet the requirement that all students be proficient by 2014.

"We are going to focus doing everything we can to meet that goal," she said.

Others are less optimistic.

"I get frustrated with people saying to schools that somehow, by magic, this is all supposed to turn out right," said Charlie Kyte, executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. "It isn't going to work. They have a micromanaging lemon on their hands as a federal law."

Larger questions

The swelling list likely will rekindle arguments by legislators and educators that the testing requirements and the sanctions that go with them should be overhauled -- or even scrapped. Some educators have warned for years that the law that was designed to raise student achievement will result in progressively more schools being branded as failures.

Schools are listed as not meeting their goals if students score too low on state tests, or if different groupings of students -- such as black, poor, non-English speaking, or special education students -- miss their testing goals. Other measures include attendance and high school graduation rates.

For most schools, not meeting their goals is little more than a public embarrassment. That's because only schools receiving Title I federal aid for poor students are subject to federal sanctions. This year, 110 Minnesota schools face sanctions. Many expect that number to keep growing.

Sanctions range from having to offer transfers and tutoring to having to restructure staff and programs. Sanctions kick in when schools miss their goals two years in a row.

Seagren said the state continues to request that the federal government ease up on its testing requirements. And state officials anticipate that the No Child Left Behind law, which must be reauthorized this year by Congress, will be changed to allow more flexibility.

Minnesota not alone

Other states also are seeing many schools fall short of their goals. Along with Minnesota, many states are lobbying to loosen testing requirements and lessen sanctions.

Thursday's results go hand in hand with results of state math and reading tests released earlier this summer. Those scores changed little from 2006.

What may have put more schools on the list this year was a rule change dictated by the federal government.