Schools shouldn't be punished because parents exercise their right to take children out of federally required tests, the state schools chief said Wednesday.

Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, called for 10 changes to the state's plan for executing the federal No Child Left Behind law, which lays out a set of academic goals for schools.

The plan would go to the state Board of Education for consideration next month. If approved, it would go to the U.S. Department of Education in April. The state has yet to figure out how many schools might meet goals under the changes, but some local administrators said few schools would see a status change.

The federal law requires at least 95 percent of students and each student subgroup – for example, special-education students, ethnic groups and English learners – to take tests for the school to reach goals. Statewide, about a quarter of schools missed the "participation" goal, meant to ensure that schools don't leave out students. State law allows parents to pull their children out of testing, causing some schools to miss the 95 percent threshold. About 50,000 parents, or 1 percent, submit waivers, sometimes because their students are disabled or high schoolers don't want to be over-tested.

"It's an inequity we can't deal with," said Larry Callison, testing analyst for Saddleback.

At Don Juan Avila Middle School in Capistrano Unified, for example, 94.3 percent of 106 special-education students took the math test – causing the whole school to miss the goal.

"As long as we're going to be held accountable to that standard, either don't let parents opt out or don't count it against us," said Jeff Bristow, Capistrano's testing director.

Parent Julie Redmond, who requested that her special-education child be left out of some tests, said parents should keep the right without their schools risking failure. "Sometimes, the testing just doesn't work. Why would you want to put the child under that kind of stress?" Redmond asked.

Jo Ann Webb, spokeswoman for the U.S. department, refused to comment until officials see the plan. Some educators said the federal government has been inflexible.

In addition to the participation rule, a minimum percent of students – including each student group – must pass math and English tests for the school to make goals. Only schools that get federal money for low-income students face punishments, including paying for tutoring and transportation for students to transfer to other schools.

Some of O'Connell's other proposed changes are tied to schools and student groups with fewer than 100 students:

Allow up to five students to stay out of testing before the school or group is considered as falling short of goals. In some cases, small schools would miss goals if one student were absent.

Consider a margin of error before deciding if a school or group missed goals. Tests do not precisely reflect students' achievement and come with a margin of error. The smaller the school, the less dependable the score. State officials said larger groups' scores more accurately reflect students' abilities.