The Obama administration's proposal to revamp the signature yardstick used to measure schools' progress under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is being seen as a bold step toward revising a key feature of the law, even as questions loom about how a new system would work. Under the plan, adequate yearly progress (AYP)--the accountability vehicle at the heart of the current version of the law, the 8-year-old No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act--would be replaced with a new metric that would measure student progress toward readiness for college or a career. Though many details remain up in the air, some education advocates say the administration proposal outlined in its fiscal 2011 budget request last week is a good first step. But some practitioners in the field already are voicing qualms about the feasibility of the proposal. Congressional reaction to the proposals has been muted so far, with education leaders in both houses still studying the proposals. The plan leaves quite a lot for lawmakers and the administration to discuss. The proposal also isn't specific on what sanctions would apply under the revised law for schools that are missing the law's achievement targets for one or two particular subgroups of students. Under the plan outlined in the budget proposal, states would be asked to adopt standards that build toward college and career readiness, and implement assessments that were aligned with those standards. That step would address a perennial criticism of the NCLB law: that it inadvertently encourages states to lower their standards to meet the current targets.