Education reform has hardly been apolitical, despite nonpartisanship. Lets begin with TV host Armstrong Williams being paid $240,000 with federal money to promote NCLB. How is it possible that over $10m of Challenge Grant money was spent on a 'non-partisan?' proposal that benefited Carkhuff, Griffin, McCune, and Bergeson.

The DOE reported $5 B spent on "Reading First" a (non-partisan?) curricula developed by McGraw-Hill. It is widely known, the Bush and McGraw families have been business partners (nonpartisans) since the 30's.

Using NCLB, Bush II selected "nonpartisan" members for the committees that approved what curriculum could be adopted by states. These persons had "significant professional connections" to another McGraw division, called "Direct Instruction" also non-partisan.

(2006) The LA Times reported "Ignite Learning," owned by President Bush's brother and his parents, benefited from federal dollars targeted for disadvantaged students.

Many U.S. school districts were convinced to use federal funds to purchase products from Neil Bush's company, such as Ignite's "portable learning centers" for science and math that cost $3,800 each. Once again with federal money from districts that included Tacoma and Seattle.

(2007) Ignite! Learning, announced Curriculum On Wheels (COW) reached more than 250,000 students in more than 10,000 science and social studies classrooms.

DOE officials (nonpartisan?) appointed by the president elected as a "compassionate conservative" hinted they were planning a new Washington, D.C., controlled "national standardized test."

This national standardized test would require billions of dollars in development and implementation costs. Before such a test could be developed, additional contracts would be made and national content standards would have to be developed.

No doubt those efforts would rely on McGraw-Hill or Pearson (non-partisan?). Companies which are currently reaping the benefits of NCLB with record profits.

Public schools were created to provide every child an opportunity to succeed (nonpartisan). NCLB is one example of federal bipartisan legislation interfering with the funding of our public schools and the people most affected by this travesty are disadvantaged students for whom the funding was intended.

I'm in favor of nationalizing the curriculum, not the testing. Adopt a world-class curriculum like Singapore for all children, then it would end social promotion and schools could target the children that really need assistance, since all students would be taught using the same high standards. Let the teachers decide how best to match curriculum to their classroom, not the lawmakers.

Neither Dorn or Bergeson are non-partisans. But Bergeson is hardly a liberal anymore than Dorn is. I found their positions on partisanship surprising and contradictory given the present situation with regard to creating a new American diploma for non-graduating high school students (Once again bipartisan, not non-partisan).

Democrats traditionally support more federal involvement. What non-partisan lawmakers should do is empower local governments by:

1. Addressing the problems of children who are homeless, live in poverty, and lack health care. Why not reduce federal taxes in lieu of state initiatives?
2. Understand, once and for all, that testing alone does not raise student or school performance. Churning students is not a cost-effective way to raise AYP.
3. Abolishing overly simplistic criterion-referenced tests, like the WASL, by abolishing them. Before No Child, the country had excellent nationally-normed tests that were used by all states.

4. Reclaim governance of public education, a function documented in state constitutions, but not in our national constitution. This could be done easily by selecting one 'best' curriculum for all children and then nationalizing it.

5. Receive federal dollars spent on education without the restrictions created by NCLB.

NCLB will never reach its stated goal for every child to be proficient in reading and math by 2014.
It should be abolished for that very reason alone.

Signed, Nonpartisan