"Yes we can!" on No Child Left Behind, says Obama

A recent story in The Washington Post details President Obama's latest take on the No Child Left Behind law. Obama recently urged Congress to overhaul existing policies of No Child Left Behind - to "seize this education moment," making for a "less intrusive" federal education policy that allows for a more individualized curriculum across schools in the nation. Current No Child Left Behind policies, first adopted in 2002 by President George W. Bush, require standardized testing in the U.S. to gauge students' reading and mathematical abilities. Schools that routinely under-perform qualify for aggressive intervention from the government to make education opportunities more equitable across socioeconomic lines.

It's about time, Mr. President. Our schools love standardized tests - who doesn't remember filling out those green and white scantron sheets as a student? Standardized testing, however, has not quite gotten America's students' to the greatest heights of their academic acumen. Students' test scores have been dropping steadily since the No Child Left Behind law sprung into action, and the achievement gap seems to be widening, not closing. And, while Obama's enthusiastic promises to reform the law serve as a positive sign of where education policy is headed, his statements remain exactly that - promises. Let's see where the President's most recent speech on No Child Left Behind actually get us. School officials are eager to see the law changed and to focus more on each student's individual learning capabilities. This time around, let's hope no one actually gets left behind.