More than 82 percent of Pennsylvania's schools -- and 95 percent of districts -- made or are making progress toward meeting the standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

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With the act requiring all children to be proficient or advanced by 2014, state Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said, "Pennsylvania remains on track statewide toward our 2014 NCLB requirements."

The state yesterday released its annual report on adequate yearly progress, known as AYP.

Schools are required to meet AYP or else face sanctions, which can involve tutoring and school transfers and ultimately lead to a state takeover.

To meet the standards, schools and districts must meet attendance and graduation rates as well as test participation and achievement levels on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests in math and reading. The most recent tests were given in the spring.

State figures show that AYP standards were met in 2,456 schools and 452 districts, compared with 2,313 schools and 308 districts last year.

Other schools also met the standard this year but were labeled "making progress" because they were in more serious categories of school improvement or corrective action the previous year.

In that group were 110 schools and 24 districts, compared with 106 schools and 141 districts last year.

Last year, 80.6 percent of schools and 89.8 percent of districts met AYP or made progress.

"This is progress and progress made due to the classroom teachers and support staff at every level, including the teachers as well as district staff and community members," said Dr. Zahorchak.

He also credited state investments in early childhood programs and tutoring pushed by Gov. Ed Rendell as well as high expectations and the spotlight created by the standards.

Dr. Zahorchak noted that the 125 of the 135 school districts -- 90 percent -- that had more than half of their students below proficiency in 2001-02 met AYP or were making progress this time.

There are 663 schools still operating that had more than half of their students below proficiency in 2001-02, and 58 percent met AYP or were making progress.

"We'll continue to target our investments to the districts, schools and students who need the most help," said Dr. Zahorchak.

Among those are Duquesne City School District, which is under state control and this school year is being managed by Pittsburgh Public Schools. Duquesne improved enough to be considered to be making progress.

Pittsburgh is in the grouping Corrective Action I for missing the mark districtwide four consecutive years. Some of its schools, however, met AYP; some of those that didn't have been closed; and many changes in the curriculum have been made this fall.

Districtwide, Pittsburgh missed the achievement standard for students overall in grade 11 in math and reading; for students overall in combined grades three and five for reading; and for black, special education and low-income subgroups on some tests in some grade levels.

The state can take over a district in corrective action, but Dr. Zahorchak said the state has no intention of taking over any more school districts.

Duquesne, Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Chester-Upland in Delaware County are under various forms of state control.

Few of the school districts failing to meet AYP or make progress are in southwestern Pennsylvania. Clairton was put on the Improvement II list, the step below corrective action, and Washington, Pa., was put on the Improvement I list.

Clairton Assistant Superintendent John Ogurchak said the district was disappointed with the results but pleased the middle school met AYP. He said the district rewrote the math and reading curriculum over the summer with an eye on better matching state standards.

"What we found out is we were teaching a lot of material. Some of this material was not being covered on the PSSA," he said.

In Washington, where the middle school made AYP, Superintendent Roberta DiLorenzo said students who have been consistently in the district do better on the tests.

She is hopeful all the efforts -- from improved curriculum to using data to determine needs -- will make a difference.

"It does take time to show results," she said. "I will tell you that the teachers and administrators are putting forth 110 percent effort to do so. We just keep at it."

In southwestern Pennsylvania, more than 80 schools were on lists ranging from warning, which carries no sanctions, to Corrective Action I, which will bring a closer look from the state.

To meet AYP, at least 45 percent of students are expected to be proficient or advanced in math and 54 percent in reading in grades three, five, eight and 11 on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment.

In addition, the graduation rate must be at least 80 percent where there are graduating classes and attendance 90 percent where there are not. This standard also can be met by showing improvement.

At least 95 percent of the students must take the test.

Schools and districts also can meet AYP through alternative measures if there is significant progress or through a calculation that leaves room for statistical error. State officials said that 652 schools and 61 districts did so.

That means that 61 percent of schools and 83 percent of districts met the standards without special considerations.

Some school districts that met the AYP standards did not meet them for all of their schools.

Aliquippa in Beaver County, which this year was removed from the empowerment list of some of the lowest-performing schools in the state, was listed as making progress although all three of its schools missed the mark.

Aliquippa Superintendent John Thomas said, "The making progress status is something we can really build upon even more."

Statewide, 151 schools met all of their AYP targets except for one subgroup.

Seneca Valley High School, now in Corrective Action I, missed the mark for its special education students.

Spokeswoman Linda Andreassi said the district is working to improve student achievement, including offering remediation classes and online assessment and help.

School and district results are available at www.paayp.com.