Faced with tougher standards for state math and reading test performance, 169 fewer Pennsylvania public schools this year met or were making progress toward meeting all required targets under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The state yesterday released figures showing that 92 percent of school districts -- 461 -- made adequate yearly progress, known as AYP, or were moving toward it. That's one more than last year, leaving 39 districts not making AYP.

Of schools, 72 percent -- 2,235 -- met or were making progress toward AYP this year, compared with 77.5 percent -- 2,404 -- last year.

Federal law calls for 100 percent of students to be scoring proficient or advanced on state tests by 2014. So far, 72 percent of Pennsylvania students are at grade level in math and 70 percent in reading.

As it moves toward the federal standard, the state is raising the required scores on the Pennsylvania State System of Assessment math and reading tests given in the spring in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11.

This year, the bar for AYP was raised to 63 percent of students scoring proficient or advanced in reading and 56 percent in math for students as a whole and for racial and other subgroups.

For the past three years, the target was 54 percent in reading and 45 percent in math.

Districts and schools faced the same targets for graduation (80 percent), attendance (90 percent) and test participation (95 percent) as in previous years.

In Allegheny County, four school districts didn't make AYP: Duquesne, Pittsburgh and Woodland Hills, which have missed the mark in consecutive years, and Sto-Rox, which previously met its targets for three years.

In addition, 88 schools -- including 34 in Pittsburgh Public Schools -- missed making AYP.

State Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak was encouraged by the overall results.

"Pennsylvania is making progress, but we need to sustain and accelerate that progress to bring all students to grade level," he said.

He noted several promising trends:

• The percentage of students in grades 5, 8 and 11 -- in which the tests have been given the longest -- scoring on grade level has grown from 55 percent in 2002 to 71 percent in 2008.

• The number of districts in which most students are at grade level has grown from 375 in 2002 to 479 today.

• Some historically low-achieving schools, including some in Philadelphia and Aliquippa, have seen dramatic improvement.

• Minority and low-income students are showing gains, resulting in a shrinking achievement gap.

Dr. Zahorchak called high school the greatest challenge because two of five students tested are below grade level.

In addition to scores of students overall, schools or districts that have at least 40 students in a racial, economic or other subgroup are accountable for their performance.

Districts could have as many as 122 targets; schools as many as 41.

In some cases, those who didn't make AYP missed on just one target, while others missed many.

Penn Hills School District, which made AYP after missing last year, saw both kinds of cases in its three schools that didn't make AYP.

Washington Elementary School missed in just one category, reading scores of black students, and the high school in another category, math scores of special education students.

Linton Middle School missed five of 10 targets, including overall math.

"We definitely need to focus on the middle grades," said Renel Williams, Penn Hills director of teaching, learning and assessment. "We've shown growth but we need to grow more to meet the benchmarks."

In Woodland Hills, where the district didn't make AYP, Edgewood Primary was the only one of the district's nine schools to make its targets. Last year, five of the nine schools hit their performance targets.

The McKeesport Area School District made AYP this year after missing last year.

Though three of the district's seven schools did not make AYP, spokesman Jason Davidek said, "There was obvious improvement there."