America is faced with a challenge detrimental to the future success of the nation: education reform. This challenge was brought about by the idea that America's public school system is failing as a whole. There are many opinions as to why the system is not performing as it once had. These differing opinions have attributed to a variety of reform methods. The methods span form implementation of local policies to federal mandated policies. No matter the method, it is generally agreed upon that a change is desperately needed. With the future of the nation heavily reliant on the success of the younger generation and the role they take in society, education is one of the most important tools they can acquire. Scrutiny over public school systems is attributed to implementation of controversial legislature such as the No Child Left Behind act, reform of teacher education programs and qualification, and reform of the system as a whole. .
One of the most controversial issues in the battle for reform is the passing of the No Child Left Behind act of 2002. This became the beginning of the standardized test era in schools. This, however, was not the first attempt at governmental influence in the public education system. President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education act (ESEA) of 1965 in to law in order to aid schools in poor economic areas (Trolian 2). Throughout the years, the act has been revised to most benefit those that need the assistance. The creation of the Department of Education can be attributed to this initial act. No Child Left Behind is the most recent revision (Trolian 3). The most known component of NCLB is the requirement of the school systems to administer standardized tests in order to monitor the progress of both the students and the school system. The results of these tests are then used to allocate federal funds to the specific school districts (Trolian 4).