The No Child Left Behind Act instituted a series of education reforms that have been detrimental to the intellectual development of students.
Teachers are expected to teach certain standards, and these standards serve only to help students pass standardized tests, which are not an adequate means of measuring a child's intelligence and progress.
Students have been taught to not think analytically, and teachers have lost their jobs for breaking away from the instituted curriculum and attempting to actually teach students, leaving students grossly unprepared for a college education, and serves only to make the education process more streamlined and easy for those who work in education.
Read more in this open letter from a teacher to college professors.
http://tinyurl.com/bg7mm2b