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Here is some encouraging data on the education reform front, by way of our friends at Scripps-Howard News Service:

Nearly two-thirds of American adults want Congress to re-write or outright abolish the landmark No Child Left Behind Act that mandates nationwide testing of elementary students to determine if public schools are performing adequately.Opposition is especially high among people most familiar with the law, according to a survey of 1,010 adults conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.

The problem, alas, is that story is nearly a year old and the effort to keep the No Child Left Behind Act alive continues apace. None of the three remaining candidates for president would repeal the law. Yes, they all criticize No Child Left Behind. But the essential position of all three is that there is nothing wrong with the law that more federal meddling can't fix. Hillary Clinton wants to pour more money into the program. So does Obama. John McCain considers the law "a major milestone" and has no doubt that Congress will reauthorize the law.

What ails No Child Left Behind is not a lack of funds or authority, but rather an understanding of the limits of what federal education bureaucrats can do. The high-stakes environment that federal law instills does not spur kids to rise to the standards -- such as they are -- but does create a market for highly paid education professionals. Among other things.

Centralizing and "federalizing" education is probably the most pernicious trend of the past 30 years in the United States. Curiously, academic achievement hasn't improved much, if at all. A courageous presidential candidate would speak out loudly against No Child Left Behind. A more cautious presidential candidate might shuck and jive and let the law expire.

But none of the candidates seem willing to do even that. It's impossible for any president to claim the education mantle and support No Child Left Behind. Standards are secondary. Control is everything.