Most Johnston County schools fell short of federal benchmarks last school year, as standards got tougher.

Eight of Johnston's 42 schools made adequate yearly progress, a benchmark laid out in the federal No Child Left Behind program. To make AYP, every subgroup of students in a school must meet standards, including those with disabilities and those with limited English skills.

Standards got tougher because the goal is a 100 percent proficiency rate for all schools by the year 2013-14.

This past school year, 71.6 percent of students in each subgroup in grades three through eight had to be proficient in reading for a school to meet AYP standards. In math, 88.6 percent had to be proficient. The year before, the standard was 43.2 percent in reading and 77.2 percent in math.

For 10th graders this past school year, 69.3 percent had to test at grade level in reading, while 84.2 percent had to be proficient in math. The year before, the numbers were 38.5 percent in reading and 68.4 percent in math.