Defining the problem: Unlike most categories measured globally, the United States does not rank among the top ten countries in public education. This trend is not a new trend. The United States has fluctuated in educational output depending on the president and his attempts to reform the public education system. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in an attempt to standardize schools across the country in hopes of closing the educational gap between students of diverse States, social classes and races. President Bush then signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002, which did not remove the purpose of the ESEA, but rather acted as a caveat to it. This new legislation aimed to improve the quality of public education by requiring schools to improve their performance. It was estimated that a school's results would be based on the use of standardized tests administered to children in certain grades. The tests mainly cover the subjects of reading, writing and mathematics. These areas were seen as linked to economic success by government officials. The progress made by schools would then determine the amount of funding allocated to the institution by the federal government. As evidence of NCLB's unintended consequences coalesces, it seems increasingly clear that, despite its good intentions and admirable goals, NCLB as currently implemented is more likely to harm than help most students who are the target of aspirations, and it is more likely to undermine (some would even say destroy) the country's public education system than to improve it (Meier, 2004). The federal government...... middle of paper ......as their needs and capabilities are different. These differences show precisely why not all students can be graded against each other. There are too many variables that could affect the outcome. Students should also have access to courses that do not particularly relate to a particular topic, but rather to a life skill such as budgeting money or being informed about credit score and its importance for quality score that a person will get later in life. There is no doubt that this country has its own problems, but education should not be one of them if we spend more per student than any other country. The efforts of the government (both federal and state), schools, students AND parents must be taken into account in order to rectify not only the current situation, but also what is to come in terms of the academic state of our country..