Flickr user timlewisnm

Data released this week shows that half as many Beaufort County schools met federal adequate progress standards this year as did last year. 

Officials, locally and with the state, say that drop is due a significant increase in the standards themselves: 20 percentage points in fact.

You can head on over to The Island Packet for the full report on this year's results.

The argument against No Child Left Behind and trying to teach to the test and not the child has been beaten to death, and to be honest I agree with those who argue the standards are too stringent and too tough.

Still, at what point do we simply start to see improvements and stop making excuses? This isn't just a local issue, but statewide and nationally: A quick search of Google News for 'Adequate Yearly Progress" proves as much.