And I want to say the goals behind No Child Left Behind were admirable, and President Bush deserves credit for that. Higher standards are the right goal. Accountability is the right goal. Closing the achievement gap is the right goal. And we've got to stay focused on those goals. But experience has taught us that, in its implementation, No Child Left Behind had some serious flaws that are hurting our children instead of helping them. Teachers too often are being forced to teach to the test. Subjects like history and science have been squeezed out. And in order to avoid having their schools labeled as failures, some states, perversely, have actually had to lower their standards in a race to the bottom instead of a Race to the Top. They don't want to get penalized? Let's make sure that the standards are so low that we're not going to be seen failing to meet them. That makes no sense.

In June 2010 the US Supreme Court [official website] denied a petition for certiorari [JURIST report] in Pontiac School District v. Duncan, which challenged whether the NCLB could impose requirements upon school districts without providing funding. As a result of the denial for certiorari, the case was dismissed. At the time, the Obama administration argued against granting certiorari [brief, PDF].