The fact that there is a federal standard only creates a minimum baseline which many schools cannot manage to achieve. People talk about teaching to the test - guess what, the teachers are not privy to the test. They have a curriculum that minimally must be met. Comparing the successes of Charter Schools to Public Schools is a good exercise. What works best in term of achievement in either should be adopted. Many charter schools have two teachers per class - a senior teacher and a junior who both work with students. Many charter schools have smaller class sizes. The intent should be to find the best methodology that has the most proven rate of success, not politicizing education. Countries that have proven achievement have figured out what works. That should be the agenda, not whose team has the best ideas.