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More than one-quarter of Arizona's public schools again have failed to meet federal accountability standards.

Data released publicly today show that of the state's 1,875 schools, 516 didn't make Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind, which measures schools not only on how well students performed on the AIMS test in the 2007-08 school year, but also on whether at least 95 percent are tested, if students show up to school and if they graduate.

Locally, 88 schools missed their targets.

Most local districts, which also have to meet benchmarks, also didn't get the federal pat on the head, including Amphitheater Public Schools and the Tucson, Sunnyside, Flowing Wells and Marana unified school districts. Each ran into trouble with test scores.

The results have spurred a widespread reaction, leaving schools and districts scrambling to find out what they did wrong and how to fix it.

But Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne isn't worried about the federal data. He calls the system "utterly irrational" and encourages parents to disregard it because he says the system sets up schools and districts to fail.

The federal government identified nine student groups that need to improve, from specific minorities to "economically disadvantaged" English-language learners and special-education students. Schools can miss meeting progress if a single student group doesn't meet proficiency rates.

Parents, then, won't know whether a school didn't make progress because eighth-graders can't read or because a small subgroup of special-education students aren't passing grade-level tests.

But even so, Horne said schools did better overall than he expected, since last year was the start of a higher benchmark set every three years to ensure 100 percent of students are proficient in core subjects by 2014.

Roughly 72 percent made the cut, which is comparable to previous years. "The fact that the percentage held steady in a demanding year like this one is a positive development," he said.

The state is expected to release its own accountability labels next week.

Most TUSD high schools didn't make progress on the federal level, officials say, because they're struggling with subgroups of special-education students and those who are learning English.

The high schools wouldn't face sanctions anyway under the federal law, because penalties only apply to those that receive federal Title 1 funding to counteract high poverty rates.

Of the 39 schools within TUSD that didn't make progress, 20 receive such funding.

Of the TUSD schools that receive federal poverty dollars, none have been on the list for five years — a term that could trigger wholesale restructuring, which could include replacing the principal and staff or reopening as a charter school.

There was some good news in the streams of data. Lawrence Intermediate Elementary School, which had seen its staff and principal replaced in restructuring, has performed well enough for two years that it's no longer under the yoke of federal restructuring.

Roberts Elementary School walked right up to year four before making enough progress in the past two years that it dodged the turmoil of restructuring.

Principal Marcos Quijada, who has been at the helm for six years, said there will be a staff party to celebrate the school's success. Teachers worked late and came in on Saturdays. The school went back to basics, made instruction more efficient and worked harder to reach English-language learners, who make up half of its population.

"It boils down to having very effective staff," Quijada said. "I can tell you we brought in technology and curriculum, but it took a very dedicated staff to effectively implement what was being taught. They had to really believe in it."

But as some moved out of dangerous waters, others waded in.

TUSD's Wakefield Middle School is one on the precipice, having failed to meet progress for the fourth year in a row.

Principal Wade McRae, who has been at the school three years, said the faculty is working hard and knows what's at stake if it doesn't make a dramatic turnaround this year. "It's that infamous sword hanging by a string above you," he said.

A number of programs have been put in place to address shortcomings. English-language learners are now working on language development for four hours, along with content. There's a new math program and more intervention. A student who's behind in reading and math, for example, will have language arts followed by a two-hour reading intervention, then math and a math-intervention class.

The school also started its first honors program this year, has a school improvement coach and is trying to get more parents involved.

McRae said he supports setting standards and wouldn't endorse lowering them. "There's a part of me that says we haven't grown fast enough so I understand the reason we're in the focus right now," he said. On the other hand, he said, his test scores, while not high enough, are higher than they've been.

What pains him most, he said, is working under the stigma of being a failing school, especially because he thinks the school is doing a good job in other areas that aren't measured, such as producing strong citizens. "That label is very hurtful. I'm not saying it's not understandable, but it's hurtful."

TUSD Superintendent Elizabeth Celania-Fagen said while she's not telling schools to disregard the results and ignore political reality, she is consoling them that even if all of them were excelling on the AIMS test, that still wouldn't ensure they are teaching the students the skills they'll need in the future, including financial literacy, teamwork and creativity. That's why she has them not only looking at how they can succeed in the short term, but how to retool in the long term.

"We're not the test-taking giants of the country right now, but we are focused on the right things," she said.

In the Sunnyside Unified School District, 11 schools failed to meet federal requirements.

Of these, Desert View High School and Chaparral Middle School failed to meet standards for the fourth year in a row.

Special-education and English-language learner subgroups were the reason the two schools missed their targets, Assistant Superintendent Jan Vesely said.

School reform models are in place at both schools, she said.

There were some bright spots among Sunnyside's results. Sunnyside and Desert View high schools both met graduation requirements, Vesely said, noting 71 percent of high school students graduated from the district last school year.

In the Sahuarita Unified School District, a top administrator was baffled as to how all six of its schools met the standards, but the district itself didn't make the grade — something Horne said happens with some regularity because the federal system is routinely harder on districts than on schools.

Assistant Superintendent Manuel O. Valenzuela said the explanation may be buried in the data collected by the state. But he said the discrepancy isn't a cause for major concern, adding he's proud of the schools for meeting the standards.

In the Vail School District, there is similar concern over the state data. The district received a passing grade, as did all but one of its 15 schools. The district disagrees with the state's finding that Sycamore Elementary School did not test 95 percent of its students. Debbie Hedgepeth, assistant superintendent of curriculum and professional development, chalked it up to a clerical error.