Editorial: Reforming Education

Congressional Democrats may put an extension of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on their legislative agenda for this year, but it seems more likely that nothing will happen before 2009 in order to keep options open for the incoming president. But even without an NCLB extension, President Bush's achievements in education are striking. Student scores on some standardized tests have started rising with the administration's back-to-basics focus, and Republican candidates no longer face an insurmountable credibility deficit on the education issue.

In 2008, Democrats will undoubtedly promise parents with school-age children that another round of new programs and much more federal spending will produce better local schools. Thanks to Mr. Bush, Republicans need not say "me too," as most voters can now see from NCLB's early success that more federal funding was not, and is not, the answer...