Jay Honeck wrote:
We need to get rid of silly federal and state mandates for student
testing that require teachers teach to a test and little else.

I agree with everything else in your post, but this.

IMHO, No Child Left Behind -- flawed though it may be -- is the first
step in the right direction toward improving our schools. For the
first time in my lifetime teachers are being held to a real,
measurable standard -- which is the first necessary step to addressing
any systemic problems that may exist.


It was a great idea that doesn't work in its' application. The schools and
teachers have to spend most of the year doing nothing but teach to a test
and it isn't even a very well written test.

And how many individual teachers do you know that have been terminated
because of NCLB I know of none and of several that should have never been
allowed to teach in the first place.