&quot;The No Child Left Behind Act, which shaped education for nearly 15 years, further contributed to the neglect of these programs. Ignoring kids who may have had aptitude or interest in accelerated learning, it demanded that states turn their attention to getting struggling learners to perform adequately...&quot;<p>teaching to population averages will prove disastrous to our long-term growth.  thank goodness we have private institutions to pick up the slack where massive bureaucratic oversight often (so often) gets it wrong.