Phila.-area schools make progress on tests: overall, 72 percent met No Child Left Behind goals, an improvement of 1 percent.

Byline: Dan Hardy, Alletta Emeno and Dylan Purcell

Sep. 1--More Philadelphia-area schools met the No Child Left Behind standards for academic success this year, mirroring similar progress in the state, figures released by Pennsylvania's education department yesterday show. The gains were in single digits, however: Seventy-two percent of the region's 823 schools met all state targets; up 1 percent from last year. Of the 505 schools in Philadelphia's suburban counties, 84 percent met the state targets, up 1 percent. Some districts had cause to celebrate. In Delaware County's troubled Chester Upland School District, all four elementary schools met the benchmarks, three of them for the first time in recent years. "We're very excited; the community is excited," Superintendent Gloria Grantham said. She said the district took an eight-week stretch last school year when students devoted 315 of 345 minutes each day to reading or language arts. Statewide, 82 percent of 3,121 schools met the standard; the gain was almost 2 percent.…