The federal government wants Missouri to prove its students are keeping up with the No Child Left Behind law. But more is involved than test scores. . The federal education department wants the state to prove the Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP tests, are reliable measures of student achievement and progress. If the state can’t prove the tests do those things, the federal government will withhold about 285-thousand dollars from the state education department. The money, instead, will go to local districts. Assistant Commissioner of Education Stan Johnson is confident Missouri’s numbers will satisfy the feds….but this was the first year all students in grades three through eight were tested…and the results won’t be in until October. The department has to give the federal agency a timetable in about two weeks showing how Missouri’s tests come into compliance with federal requirements. Johnson says Missour’s status is “approval pending,” leaving him confident final approval will come once the results are in and the documentation can be provided.