I think NCLB is a symptom of our overly sympathetic society. It's a horrible idea, it's a horrible concept. It is, at its root, a socialistic ideal.

I agree to some extent that the ultimate responsibility should lie with the states and localities, but one need only look at Ohio's inability to come up with an equitable school funding law that can get past the state Supreme Court to see that there are issues even at that level.

Vouchers might help alleviate some of the inequity, but as a taxpayer, do I really want to pay for someone else's child to attend a private school simply because the public school system sucks on ice? Public education need not be as poor as it is, and I think the way to solve many of the problems are to re-think how we apply it and whether or not we should really be forcing people who have no desire to be there to stay. Do away with truancy laws for anyone over the age of 14. Bust them on vagrancy laws instead and throw their asses in jail if they're not going to use the time they choose not to spend in school doing something productive. If they're too stupid to do something productive, they can starve.

Stop funding the schools based on how many people they can funnel through the lowest level of education. Reward them instead for the the number of students they have succeeding at the highest levels. How many kids did you have pass AP tests? How many students did you have score above the 75th percentile on the ACT? Do not measure and reward based on the bottom tier, do it at the top. By pushing our students to excel, we will get the best out of our best and brightest (who are all too often bored to bitterness and tears, and act out accordingly). Perhaps the lowest tiers of students will see both that the students who take advantage of the best offerings are successful, and/or decide to define their success as reaching their own maximum potential, and there is no shame in your maximum potential not being as high as someone else's. Despite what the bleeding hearts think, not everybody gets to be the smartest person in the room.