This letter to the editor by Secretary's Regional Representative Anne Hancock appeared in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal on July 26, 2006.

The news from South Carolina's schools is good: Test scores are rising, achievement gaps are closing and education reform is working, with much of the improvement taking place since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). That is why it is so surprising that a South Carolina newspaper would recommend "killing" the law ("Congress should kill No Child Left Behind," July 18 Herald-Journal editorial).

NCLB, whose goal is full grade-level proficiency in reading and math by 2014, signaled a return to student-centered, results-oriented education.

According to the Nation's Report Card, Palmetto State students, for the first time in history, have scored above the national average in mathematics. South Carolina was also one of only five states to improve in both fourth-grade and eighth-grade science. "South Carolina ended the 2005-06 academic year on a high note," said State Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum.

But has the law made it harder for teachers to reach at-risk students, as the editorial alleges? To the contrary, students with disabilities are benefiting from more classroom time and attention under NCLB, according to the Center on Education Policy.

South Carolina's fourth-graders and eighth-graders with disabilities have made double-digit improvements in science since 2000 despite the fact that many more are being tested. Nationwide, the achievement gaps in reading and math between white and Hispanic fourth-graders and 9-year-olds have reached all-time lows.

The record is clear: No Child Left Behind has made it easier for teachers to teach and for students to learn. To kill it would be a tragic loss for all.

Anne Hancock
Secretary's Regional Representative
U.S. Department of Education