MADISON, Wis. -- The number of Wisconsin schools that didn't meet standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and could face sanctions increased from 95 to 156 this year, including the entire Madison Metropolitan School District.

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Of the 156 schools on the list released Tuesday by the state Department of Public Instruction, 82 were in the Milwaukee Public School district. Seven of the schools on the list were charter schools.

In Madison, nine schools are listed, including all four high schools.

Outgoing Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Art Rainwater said Tuesday that not only did the district expect schools to end up on the list, but officials are surprised there aren't more schools on the list.

Madison Memorial, West, LaFollette and East high schools have been identified for improvement, which means they haven't met federal standards for two or more years in a row.

Lincoln and Leopold elementary schools are new on the list, as well as Sherman, Toki and Cherokee middle schools. Almost all these schools made the list for not meeting reading standards.

Rainwater said the federal No Child Left Behind standard is not how officials measure success in the Madison Metropolitan School District.

"We have never paid attention to this. What we have paid attention to is all of our individual kids -- are they learning? Are they learning as well as they can? Are there things we can do for each one of those individual children to help them learn better? That's truly what our concern has been, not these arbitrary lists that come out of this law," Rainwater said.

Rainwater said that an entire school is deemed "needing improvement" if just one subset of students doesn't meet the standard.

One University of Wisconsin-Madison expert on education policy said that while No Child Left Behind might not be the district's standard, it is the law.

"The law is doing what's intended, what the designers intended, and they've made a lot of modifications in the law over time, with administrative rules and waivers from the Department of Education. So, I think it is highlighting certain problems in schools and school districts. Is it the overall approach I would take to school reform? The answer is, 'Absolutely not,'" said John Witte, professor in the UW-Madison Department of Political Science.

The No Child Left Behind Act will need to be reauthorized next year, and despite who is then in the White House, Witte said he expects major changes to be made.

If changes aren't made, the federal standards will increase. If No Child Left Behind continues, 100 percent of students in all schools will have to be proficient on the standardized tests.

Rainwater said if that happens, he would expect to see not only all Madison schools on the list but also every school in the country.

For the second year, 56 schools and the Milwaukee district made the list for failing to make adequate progress. Forty of those that receive federal anti-poverty money could face sanctions if they don't improve.

Related Link:

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Press Release (PDF Format)