KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Three Kansas school districts have received some of the waivers they sought from the No Child Left Behind federal education law.

The state says the McPherson, Kansas City and Clifton-Clyde districts won’t have to use state tests for its eighth-grade and high-school students. Federal education officials will allow them
to track the academic progress of older students using the ACT college entrance exam and another test designed for younger students called ACT EXPLORE.

The state asked federal officials to reconsider their decision to bar the districts from using alternative exams for their younger students. But the state learned last week that the appeal was
denied.

McPherson was granted a similar waiver last year, although it allowed the district to use the EXPLORE exam for sixth- and seventh-graders.