Under NCLB, Each State Was Permitted to Set Its Own

Under NCLB, each state was permitted to set its own proficiency benchmarks to be determined by standardized tests. According to the 2007 report "The Proficiency Illusion," improvements in the passing rates on states can be largely explained by

A) improved teaching at schools in danger of failing.
B) setting a lower bar on the 8th grade test.
C) true growth in student learning.
D) declines in the difficulty of those tests.