Here's a linkto the actual report.

From the press release:

Unfortunately, there is no way to directly compare state proficiency standards because states are free to select the tests they employ and to establish their own performance standards.

the observed heterogeneity in states’ reported percents proficient can be largely attributed to differences in the stringency of their standards. There is, at best, a weak relationship between the NAEP score equivalents for the state proficiency standard and the states’ average scores on NAEP.

I noticed from the article that it appears that my home state of NC appears to have just about the lowest standards around - indeed, many of the southern states (although notably not South Carolina) seem to be listed near the bottom.

People want education to be locally driven, but it is really bizarre to end up in a situation where the same child could be viewed as proficient in one state and failing in another.

Of course, this can happen even from district to district.  I know a parent from preschool who told me they moved to our district from another a couple of hours away and found that her two older daughters (junior high and high school age), who were on par at their previous school, were two years behind here.  It has been tough for them getting caught up.

What a mess.

*Thanks for Amy for the idea of "WTF" as a diary tag.