(Image Source: White House Flickr)

BY NICK ADAMS

President Obama says “Yes we can” -- reform The No Child Left Behind Act.  That’s exactly what he did in a speech Friday.  

Here’s MSNBC with a recap.

“The President said he wanted to energize schools’ improvement at the local level by letting states opt out of some of the key provisions of the Bush-era policy.”

The President also said action needs to be taken swiftly so the United States doesn’t fall below its peers across the globe even further. C-SPAN has that video.

“Congress has not been able to fix these laws so far.  I’ve urged Congress for awhile now let’s get a bipartisan effort, let’s fix this. Congress hasn’t been able to do it.  So I will.”  

States can now opt out of provisions of the law. Connecticut, Idaho and Wisconsin are reportedly seeking waivers with other states possibly following.  CNN’s Briana Keilar calls the move “a huge day for teachers, students and parents.”

“Just to set the stage and remind people what this policy was, it's a nine-year-old policy implemented in 2002. The goal was to end the achievement gap. Critics said it hasn't worked. (FLASH) A lot of critics, especially at the state level, have said this is a one size fits all thing, that it hasn't worked out, that they have been seeing teachers teaching to the tests and teaching to the standards and not really teaching kids and getting them proficient in the way they should.

But a Baltimore Sun editorial says the proposal is a step in the right direction -- writing -- the government needed to fix the flawed methods -- but did a good job to keep the goals of reforming education intact.  

“Despite its criticism of NCLB, the Obama administration has proved itself to be every bit as forceful an advocate for shaking up the status quo in the nation’s schools as the Bush administration was.”

But the president’s plan has its critics. The Weekly Standard’s Joy Pullmann takes issue with his decision to move without Congress.

“Unfortunately, the president’s proposals ... are as worn and gimmicky as his jobs bill. Worse, the administration’s central approach to the largest federal education law has become  disregarding Congress and the rule of law...”

According to CBS News, President Obama says the U.S. ranks sixteenth in the world for young people who get college degrees.  

(SOC)

###