Defining the problem: Unlike most categories measured on a global scale, the United States does not rank among the top ten countries when it comes to public education. This trend is not a new trend. The United States has fluctuated up and down in its educational output depending on the president and his attempts to reform the public education system. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to try to standardize schools across the country in hopes of closing the educational gap between students of various states, social classes, and races. President Bush then signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002, which did not defeat the purpose of the ESEA, but rather acted as a warning to it. This new legislation was intended to improve the quality of public education by requiring schools to improve their performance. It was believed that academic performance would be based on the use of standardized tests administered to children in certain grades. The tests focus primarily on reading, writing and math topics. These areas were believed to be linked to economic success by government officials. The progress made by the schools would then determine the amount of funding awarded to the institution by the federal government. As the evidence of NCLB's unintended consequences comes together, it seems increasingly clear that, despite its good intentions and admirable goals, NCLB as it is currently implemented is more likely to harm than help the majority of students who they are the target of their aspirations, and are more likely to weaken (some would even say destroy) the nation's public education system than improve it (Meier, 2004). they are different. These differences specifically show why it is not possible to rank all students against each other. There are too many variables that could affect the outcome. Students should also have access to courses that don't particularly relate to a certain topic, but rather to life skills such as planning money or being educated about credit scoring and its importance to the level of quality a person will achieve later in life. There is no doubt that this nation has its own unique problems, but education should not be one of them if we spend more per student than any other nation. The efforts of the government (both federal and state), schools, students and parents must be directed in order to correct not only the current situation but also what is to come in terms of the academic state of our nation..