No Child Left Behind makes several assumptions which are either mistaken or false.

1.  100% of students can achieve age-level standards in all subjects.

2.  All students enter school equally prepared. 

3.  When students fail to achieve standards, all blame rests on schools, with none on any other sector of society.

No Child Left Behind must be amended or scrapped to address these false assumptions.  We call on you to assure that students come to school well-nourished, from safe communities, without environmental toxins in their bloodstreams, and with experience in a good pre-school.  

Once in school, we insist that requirements of attainment be based on progress rather than rigid standards.  Students who come to school without the experience of ever listening to a story, and have no alphabetic knowledge DO take longer to learn to read.  And yes, some students come to school speaking other languages, or with learning disabilities.  The teachers and schools dedicated enough to teach students who come to school with a strike or two against them should not be punished for the failings of a larger society.  Nor should the parents and communities served by these schools lose their autonomy.  

Fix NCLB this year.