New Hampshire Criticism Mounts of No Child Left Behind Act

When President George W. Bush signed the $26.5 billion No Child Left Behind Act into law on Jan. 8, 2002, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige said the education reform bill would "launch a new era of American education." One year later, many educators in the New Hampshire fear he was right.

While superintendents and school board members across the Seacoast applaud the intent of No Child Left Behind — accountability, quality teachers, statewide assessment tests — the fear of setting unreasonable standards and the findings from two prominent education associations in the state that the act will be another unfunded or underfunded mandate have many in the education field perplexed and worried.

This needs to be noticed in other states.