Based on preliminary results released Monday, more than half of Triangle schools didn't have enough students passing state exams this past school year. At schools receiving federal Title I funding to help low-income students, consequences include letting students transfer out and providing paid tutoring services to children.

"It's draconian to hold back a school because one subgroup didn't make it," said David Holdzkom, the Wake school system's assistant superintendent for evaluation and research.

A record 14 Wake elementary schools will face sanctions. At least 14 schools in Durham, four in Johnston County and three in Chapel Hill-Carrboro also face corrective measures.

The numbers could rise in the Triangle depending on state reading results for elementary and middle schools that will be released in November. The test results released Monday covered math scores in elementary and middle schools and both reading and math scores in high schools.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind program, schools must evaluate students in groups according to race, family income, English proficiency and other factors. If any group doesn't measure up on state reading and math tests, the entire school is considered deficient.

"When you've got kids who can't speak English, what do you expect?" said Beth Frazier, a parent at Briarcliff Elementary School in Cary, which is facing punishment. "I like Briarcliff. For my children, it's provided them a nice basic education."

Title I schools that fall short must first offer transfer choices before providing tutoring. But the State Board of Education has asked for federal permission to allow schools to offer tutoring before providing transfers.

Two Durham elementary schools -- Glenn and E.K. Powe -- have fallen short for six years in a row in math, which means they could face serious penalties.

But Durham Chief Academic Officer Terri Mozingo said the district did not plan any of the drastic restructuring options suggested under No Child Left Behind, such as complete replacement of the staff or reopening the school as a charter program.

'Some flexibility'

"We are aware that there are those sanctions the federal government has outlined. But we have some flexibility to work with the state to identify which of those sanctions we'll be applying to schools," he said.

The restructuring will be handled through smaller changes, such as realigning teacher schedules for more common planning time, extending the school day with before-school literacy and math tutoring sessions and adding staff to reduce class sizes or focus on small group instruction within larger classes, said Stacey Wilson-Norman, Durham's assistant superintendent of elementary curriculum and instruction.

Overall passing rates were low this year -- 17 percent of schools in Durham, 24 percent of Wake County schools and 33 percent of Orange County schools.

Schools in other Triangle counties posted better results. Passing rates were 50 percent in Johnston County, 53 percent in Chatham County and 59 percent in Chapel Hill-Carrboro.

Holdzkom said the results aren't surprising considering that the passing rates required under No Child for the math exams in elementary and middle schools went up. This year, at least 77.2 percent of students in an elementary or middle school had to pass the math exams. That's up from 65.8 percent last year.

Also on Monday, Wake released new figures showing that 78.8 percent of students graduated from high school in four years. That's a slight drop from the 79.3 percent reported last year.

There was some good news on Monday. Powell Elementary in Raleigh and Corinth-Holders Elementary in Johnston County no longer face punishment after having passed the math goals for No Child for two straight years.

James Sposato, principal of Powell Elementary, said the school underwent a major reformation that included spending more time on teaching math.

"It's an opportunity to take a look at your school and see what changes can be made," Sposato said.