Missouri gets federal education benchmarks waiver

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Education has extended Missouri's waiver from some parts of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The 2001 law requires states to set benchmarks for achievement in math and English, with a goal of 100 percent of students demonstrating grade-level proficiency by 2014.

Missouri was among several states that sought and received waivers in 2012. The federal agency renewed the waiver Thursday for one year.

Assistant U.S. Education Secretary Deborah Delisle wrote that Missouri already has implemented education reforms that exceed the requirements of No Child Left Behind.

Among other things, the agency praised the state's work to develop model curricula and assessments for Common Core standards now in place, although some lawmakers and parents are pushing to drop those national guidelines.