President Bush signed The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 as a
reauthorization of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The key aspects of this legislation are its attempt to install
greater accountability, flexibility, and local control as well
as expanding parental options and applying proven teaching
methods and programs. What The Numbers Say No specific teaching
methods are mandated, but the law does require that the methods
chosen have a proven track record of success. While the program
is not perfect and has its problems, it at least attempts to
reform a public education system whose problems are greater than
those of the legislation. The inspiring motto of the Act, that
no child should be left behind by education, begs the question:
Are our children being left behind by public education and, if
so, why? According to the National Center for Education
Statistics Assessment of Educational Progress, known as The
Nation's Report Card, 36% of 4th graders cannot read at a basic
level. This statistic is