The Education Department says 73 percent of Vermont schools have not met standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Officials say the change was caused by a rise in standards, which go up every three years.
The goal is that 100 percent of students will be proficient in math, reading and science by 2014.
This year, 23 schools did not meet the standard for the first time and nearly 200 have been identified as needing improvement. Of those, 120 were identified as needing improvement for the first time.
Vermont is moving toward a new way of measuring school performance, working with other states to develop new standards for math and literacy.