Most Americans Favor Changing or Abolishing NCLB

Nearly two-thirds of American adults want Congress to re-write or outright abolish the federal No Child Left Behind Act that up for reauthorization by Congress, according to a survey by the Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University.

The survey found that the more people know about the law, the more they don't like it.

According to the Scripps Howard News Service, "Well-educated people, especially college graduates and those who've attended post-graduate schooling, are especially likely to call for changes to the law. People who have public school children at home are somewhat more likely to want the law altered or abolished than are people who don't currently have children in school."

According to survey results, 23 percent of the 1,010 respondents said they want the law renewed in its current form, 14 percent want it abolished and 49 percent want it amended. Fourteen percent were undecided. Taken together, 63 percent want the law abolished or amended.

Only about a third of poll respondents said they think the law has had a positive influence on public education while slightly less than half said it has had a negative impact and a fifth were undecided.

While there is growing opposition to NCLB among Republicans in Congress, the Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll found that "Democrats in the general public were more likely to want changes in the law than were Republicans.