The Richfield school district, its high school, middle school and four elementary schools have failed to meet goals set to satisfy the federal No Child Left Behind law, according to a list released Friday by the Minnesota Department of Education.

Richfield Senior High School and Richfield Dual Language School are new to the list of schools that failed to meet "adequate yearly progress" based on standardized test scores. The tests were taken by all Minnesota students last spring.

About half the schools in the state also failed to meet the standard this year.

In a special issues bulletin released Friday, district Chief of Staff Kate Foate Trewick wrote that even though Richfield failed to meet its No Child Left Behind goals, achievement is improving in the district.

She pointed out, for example, that district-wide gain on the state reading test exceeded the state average in most grades

“Strategic use of technologies and improvements to instructional strategies, materials and equipment are credited with producing incremental improvements," she wrote. "Richfield teachers are accelerating learning for students who are behind, while sustaining momentum for those who are already on track.”

The issues bulletin also said:

Statewide, of 335 districts, 226 or 67% did not achieve AYP accountability requirements.  According to the report, more than 1000 Minnesota schools did not meet their AYP targets.  Statewide, 45% of schools that had sufficient data met AYP requirements.  Though our students made progress, Richfield Public Schools did not meet AYP requirements in 2010-11.

The statewide report can be viewed and downloaded at the Minnesota Department of Education website.