Fiscal Federalism

There is a proverb that says, "Money is the root of all evil." I am sure that you have heard that before.  We all know that you have to have money to survive.  In this economy, though, it seems that free money is in short supply.  States, like ours, are struggling to pay for education.  Class sizes are larger, teachers are fewer, course offerings are limited, etc. and etc.  The up side of the tough economy means that there will be fewer standardized tests this year.  No longer will an EOC test score be able to hold you back or save you in the end.  Testing is expensive.  But a new kind of testing is on the horizon. This old testing plan was key to our state implementing the No Child Left Behind law. This law is now being dismantled by President Obama's Education plan called Race to the Top.  Tied to Obama's reform is money...free money to those states that "play" by the new rules.  This nationalization of school standards is controversial for so many reasons, but does that make it a bad plan? I personally feel like the educational systems in general should have no federal government interference at all. Now, I feel like the "Race to the Top" is a waste. One, the teachers are directly affected by the students, which is a horrid decision. There are always those students who refuse to learn, refuse to participate, and refuse to actually TRY and do the tests which are given to them to assess the teachers; which is completely unfair to the teachers who work so hard and long hours, with very little pay. Its ridiculous what the federal government tries to do to the educational systems, with both the 'Race to the Top' and 'No Child Left Behind'. Even though, I do like NCLB more than the other, because of the fact it lets the STATES create the tests and the standards for the children, but I still don't like the fact that the federal government is trying to intervene in something that they shouldn't.