Vegas-area schools give themselves 'A' for effort

LAS VEGAS " Las Vegas-area school administrators are giving themselves an "A" for 2007-08 effort under federal standards, even though the number of schools needing improvement increased and the number showing improvement dropped.

Clark County school officials said Thursday that 186 of the district's 341 schools made adequate yearly progress in 2007-08 under federal No Child Left Behind Act standards. That's 32 fewer than in the year before.

The number of schools on the state's watch list almost doubled, to 66 in 2007-08 from 35 the year before.

But officials say the nation's fifth-largest district met 94 percent of its nearly 13,000 benchmarks, and expects to qualify for a second consecutive year as a district showing adequate yearly progress.

A deputy superintendent says that's worthy of the "A" grade.