Students Are Falling Behind In the article called “Why it’s Time to Replace No Child Left Behind” in Time Magazine, Kayla Webley reports on the difficulties schools across the nation are going through because of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The article goes more in depth and explains the core issues with the NCLB and why it backfired the second they signed it. As Fair Fax county superintendent Jack dales says about the law, “It’s become meaningless” (Webley 42). As the law continues to conduct mayhem across the nation’s schools, more and more students are becoming slaves to the tests and are lacking basic academic skills. The article shows convincingly that NCLB is not working and needs to be restructured. However, I feel the NCLB can have a long lasting impact on the schools if the government would allow more flexibility in the classroom, and implement a rigorous schedule for the students. The high standards and narrow curriculum are taking away the creativity of the teachers’ lesson plans, but the creativity of the lesson plans is just one of the solutions the NCLB really needs. First of all, the NCLB focuses mainly on what is on the tests and lacks contextual creativity in the teacher’s lesson plans. NCLB needs to allow more flexibility in the classrooms so that teachers are able to teach at a higher rate. Webley explains that “NCLB has sucked the creativity out of their lesson plans, forcing them to narrow their curriculums and teach only those concepts that will be on the state tests” (44). The government should find a way to incorporate the teachers’ lesson plans with their tests. This mindset will not only make students study for math, science, and reading courses, but will open up new doors that will motivate and inspire students to do better in school. Teachers should have the freedom to construct their own curriculum with emphasis on