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If one carefully reads the information provided by the Department Education it would become quickly apparent that making the tests used for NCLB into graduation requirements is not recommended. In fact they recommend, as do many other educational researchers, that you never do such a thing. The tests are meant to be a diagnostic to rate the efficacy of the schools, not of the individual students.

Assessment of student performance is still best left up to the teachers who have a much broader view of the students work behaviors and performance on much more than a single test. If you base a students retention or advancement on a single test it completely undermines the role of the educator and at the same time skews the test results by introducing elements of stress and fear.

The tests, however, do provide a wealth of information as to how a school is doing on average. You can pinpoint exact areas needing improvement down to single skills and concepts that students in general perform worse on. By using this targeted data you can draw very specific conclusions about student performance and student needs and modify their education accordingly.

Those who rail against NCLB have very little understanding of the potential this law has opened up in the lower performing areas of our country. It is finally forcing them to be accountable for the billions spent on education and at the same time forcing them to look at the causes for failure. It is the greatest boon to education in the 21st Century - and yes, I am a teacher.