"This community of 16,500 people is highly educated, tightly knit and family oriented, and takes pride in local schools that do much better than the state at large -- at a significantly lower cost. … [S]chool administrators and teachers here support [No Child Left Behind] and have put their shoulders to the wheel to get it fully implemented.

"‘The vision is that the children will achieve at their highest level,’ said Robert M. Post, superintendent of the Grove City Area School District. ‘We look at No Child Left Behind as a marathon [that] starts in kindergarten and ends when they graduate [from high school]. So every course builds on the next course.’"

"Median fifth-grade reading and math scores were 20 and 10 points, respectively, above the statewide average at Hillview Elementary School, where 123 of 179 students, or 68 percent, rated proficient or advanced. The state average was 55 percent.

"Eighth-grade reading and math scores were 30 points above the state median at Grove City Area Middle School, where 149 of 240 students, or 62 percent, were proficient or advanced, compared with a statewide average of 55.2 percent.

"Similarly, 11th-grade reading and math scores were 70 and 90 points, respectively, above the statewide average at Grove City Area High School, where 158 of 255 students, or 62 percent, were rated proficient or advanced, while the state average was 55 percent.

"The irony is that the Grove City Area School District's yearly per-pupil expenditure for all school and transportation costs was $7,192, compared with a state average of $8,295."