Education is the foundation of American society. It empowers America's youth to become the successful leaders this country needs for the future. Education has been one of America's top priorities since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. Today, education is controlled by the No Child Left Behind Act, initiated on January 8, 2002. This law was passed with the government's intention to provide Americans with a higher quality education system. However, the No Child Left Behind Act had many flaws that were not seen by a large majority of the public. This law limited American students by not allowing them to demonstrate their full academic potential while continuing their studies. Even though the act was still relatively recent, there was already evidence to prove that he had already gotten off to a bad start. For crucial math and science courses, statistics showed minimal improvements that had begun around the time the No Child Left Behind law was passed. The law was also supported by a number of educators who spoke out testifying against the right to teach of their own free will. Teachers across America said that because of this new law, they felt constant pressure on their shoulders from state government to “teach to the test.” In 2001, before the No Child Left Behind Act was proposed, the United States' rank in education performance was 16th. After the law was implemented, that rank jumped to 17th in the country. Statistics also showed that due to the declining level of education in the United States, many teachers began to become discouraged in their profession. Although America was never able to hold the title... middle of paper ... summary of the act. July 1994. The web. 02November 2011./documents_library/esea1965.htm.>This was a summary of the Primary and Secondary Education Act. I got almost all my information about this act from this site.7.) Jeffery Simon. Personal interview. CNN Morning Joe. November 01, 2010. Where I got my statistics on college and high school students caused by the NCLB law from this interview as well as all my information regarding the revision of the No Child Left Behind Act8.) Smith, Chelsea . “Pros and Cons of the No Child Left Behind Act.” (2005) < http://us Liberals.about.com/od/education/I/NCLBProsandCons..html.>Chelsea Smith is a teacher who has expressed her feelings about the NCLB law and how it has affected his way of teaching. its students fail in many areas of education.