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Private School better Public Schools, State Public Education better than Federal Government. In fact never Federal Government.

What is the real issue? There are indeed many Public School systems run by the States are really really very good (e.g. Wisconsin). Some, like NYC, are really really bad. Where the public schools are really bad there are serious attempts on the part of parents to send their kids to private schools. This helps those kids enormously. But it does not help all kids. And another serious problem is that in places where the public schools are poor, many of the students in them are better than the schools. And they are being wasted.

There is an obvious answer. Jettison the failing students, concentrate on the good ones. The good one's are from all economic classes, and ethnic groups. This is no discrimination issue. Nor is it cruel as in survival of the fittest. It is merely an acknowledge of apparent and obvious facts.

To sacrifice good students in public schools, because of bad students that you can do nothing for no matter what you do, is a cruelty to the good students and a truly missed opportunity of building up the life situations of economically poor children who are good students.

No doubt each state has the right to determine what grade performance equates with no advancement in grade.

What would Bill Gates say?

Upon reflection over the life of this administration what is readily apparent is that it has chosen on every issue a position of non-action. Secure borders: non-action; economic solutions: non-action; ineffective and destructive NCLB legislation: non-action. We have a pretty-boy president that is unable to make decisions. It has been said that "Not to decide is to decide" but that is in a non-restrictive environment. Here he has not only chosen not to decide, but when others attempt to decide he becomes an impediment.

Pertaining to NCLB, the most beneficial solution is to let it expire and initiate the Common Core Standards for all of the states. Nationalize teacher certification so that if a teacher is certified in one state, they would be certified in any state. That would produce market competition in the attainment and retention of teachers. It would also assure that the minimally acceptable standards standards for all students would be the Core Curriculum Standards which would meet the educational efficacy for the minimum college entrance requirement. States could certainly go beyond that if they chose. States could still tailor it stylistically according to their individual preferences.