Congress has begun hearings on the reauthori­zation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Created in 2002, No Child Left Behind increased federal fund­ing for K–12 education and established new require­ments for state and local school systems across the country.

As part of the NCLB reauthorization, Congress should consider various proposed reforms. In March, Senators Jim DeMint (R–SC) and John Cornyn (R–TX) and five other sponsors introduced the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success (A-PLUS) Act (S. 893). In the House of Representatives, Representative Pete Hoekstra (R–MI) and 60 cosponsors are sponsor­ing another version of the A-PLUS Act (H.R. 1539).

Both versions of the A-PLUS Act are geared to addressing problems that have become apparent dur­ing the implementation of No Child Left Behind as well as systemic problems that have persisted in fed­eral education policy for decades. Specifically, the pro­posals would promote greater state and local control in education while maintaining true accountability through state-level testing and information reporting to parents to ensure transparency.

Our own children—not just immigrants—need a patriotic education which today is denied them by an entrenched education bureaucracy. We cannot win this fight within the education establishment; we need to break out of the establishment so that we can bring pride and patriotism back to our schools.

The very concept of America is under assault. The traditional notion of our country as a union of one people, American peoples, has been assaulted with multicultural, situation ethics, and values neutral model where Western values and American civilization are ignored, minimized or ridiculed. Unless we act to change things, our next generation will grow up with no understanding of core American values. This will destroy America, as we know it, as surely as if a foreign conqueror had overwhelmed us.

It is absolutely necessary to establish a firm foundation of patriotic education upon which further knowledge can be built; otherwise, Americans will lack understanding of American values and how important and great it is to be American. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the chief value of studying the past is “rendering the people the safe, as they are the ultimate, guardians of their own liberty…. [h]istory by apprising them of the past will enable them to [be a] judge of the future.”

Citing data from the National assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), political scientist Abigail Thernstrom and her historian husband, Stephan Thernstrom, have written about how African-Americans, by the 12th grade, "are typically four years behind white and Asian students," with Hispanics "doing only a tad better than black students." Translated, this means that black and Hispanic students are finishing high school, on average, "with a junior high education."

But how many local minority students might be "finishing high school" in the first place?

A 2002 report published jointly by Minneapolis Public Schools, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Minneapolis Foundation showed four-year graduation rates for the Class of 2000 were 47 percent for "Asian Americans"; 31 percent for both "African Americans" and "Hispanic Americans"; and 15 percent for "American Indians." For "White Americans," it was a still-terrible 58 percent.

What about other achievement gaps locally?

In a 2003 study of 19 states with high school exit exams, as reported by the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership, Minnesota was found to have the "largest achievement gap in the country between African American and White non-Hispanic students in math," as measured on the state's Basic Skills test.

Might dreadful results like these be caused by financially shortchanging inner-city schools?

No Child Left Behind

The Bush Administration’s strategy for reauthorization can be characterized as middle of the road. Beyond unveiling a new “No Child Left Behind” logo, the Bush Administration marked the anniversary by offering a few recommendations for continuing down the current path.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings outlined this position in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “I’ve worked in policymaking for 20 years, and I’ve yet to see a perfect law -- especially one as far reaching as this one. But the core principles of NCLB are as strong and sound as they were five years ago. As we move forward with reauthorization, we must preserve these principles while improving the law.”

President Bush sought to build bipartisan support for the Administration’s position by inviting Democrat and Republican congressional leaders to the White House. “In our discussion today,” the President explained, “we’ve all agreed to work together to address some of the major concerns that some people have on this piece of legislation, without weakening the essence of the bill, and get a piece of legislation done.”

While the spirit of bipartisanship was apparent at the White House meeting, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative George Miller (D-CA) sharply criticized the existing law that same day. They seek a different path for education policy. This second path for reform bends sharply to the left, and consists primarily of a dramatic increase in federal spending on education.