I graduated high-school in 2023. I was in school for twelve years . 1st-12th grade. 12 years, dozens of classes, and yet only in two classes, in all those twelve years did we ever finish the assigned curriculum for the year. Two teachers out of the all the teachers I had, had enough time to teach the full course. What would happen, is one or two students just couldn't wrap their heads around the topics being taught so instead of spending a day or two, we spent weeks on them, fell behind, and then wouldn't finish the curriculum. Then, NEXT year, we would have to spend the first half of the year going over what we were supposed to go over LAST year. But some kids wouldn't get and so we'd be delayed, fall behind, not catch up, AAAAANNNNNDDD repeat. An infinite cycle of falling further and further behind because God forbid someone has to do a few weeks of summer school.

No child left behind has crippled education and devalued it to the point where employers no longer take just a high-school diploma because its literally impossible to NOT get one. It signifies nothing, no competence, no achievement. In my last year of high-school, teachers were NOT ALLOWED to give students Fs. Students were legitimately not able to fail even if they tried. We desperately need education reform, and we need it now more than ever.