Although the thinking behind "No Child Left Behind" appears to be sound, most states were developing their own standards of learning before this legislation came on the scene. I strongly support standards and doing whatever it takes to help children learn. However, when a public school is scoring well above passing, e.g. over 90%, there is often NOT the expected growth as required by law, which puts this school at risk of not receiving passing grades when evaluated --- this school may be scoring well over 90% in all areas, yet it may receive a "failing" rating. I believe it is important to recognize that this legislation applies only to public schools --- not to private or church related programs.
 
In today's world, schools are facing changing demographics. Educators are faced with teaching and getting "all" students to pass the standards tests, regardless of one's special education label. The problem is compounded with our increasing cultural diversity; schools across the United States must have children take the exam even if they have lived in the U.S. for only a short period of time and who speak languages other than English.
 
Once testing is done, an evaluation of all categories is made. These include various ethnic categories, as well as those receiving free/reduced lunches, special education, or English for Language Learners. Commonly, individual children fall into and are evaluated in several categories. This alone can have a significant negative impact on schools. The most impact is felt at the middle school level, since most elementary schools do not have the required 50 student minimum in order to assess a category.