I'm no fan of No Child Left Behind, but as I understand it there aren't a whole lot of other options. The feds want to improve schools, but the only real power they have is writing checks. They have little ability to dictate how schools should operate. The result is the feds have mandated a few tests, about the limit of their non-fiscal power, and made receiving federal funds conditional on schools meeting some basic standards. It is an attempt to hold schools accountable within the limited framework the federal government has to work in.
I'm all for changing how schools operate. They should have performance evaluations for personnel based on more than the results of a test. They should get rid of "tenure", actual and effective (even schools without it make it damn near impossible to fire under-performing teachers), and allow schools to hold teachers and administrators accountable for their performance. The problem is that has to be done at the state and local levels, something I just don't see happening.
America currently spends a ton of money on education. While we don't spend the most per student at the elementary and secondary level it is pretty close and we are top five. I don't think money is the issue, but at the federal level that is about all that can be controlled.
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