Political problem and solutionThe United States today faces a problem that affects the children of today and tomorrow. These children are the future of the United States, so shouldn't they all receive the highest quality education possible. Thanks to new policies implemented by the Board of Education, education has become a competition between schools to win their funding. Race to the Top is a mandate (p. 81) which is a formal order from the national government that states implement certain policies, is meant to create an incentive to improve and reform schools (ESEA Blueprint for Reform, 2009) , requiring that teacher evaluation systems compete with other schools (A. Levine and M. Levine, 2012). The race to the top has created pressure on states, districts and teachers to improve test scores in order to gain or retain funds. The law also rewards districts and teachers that improve based on student standardized test scores and applies reform to schools that do not improve or meet requirements (ESEA Blueprint for Reform, 2009). Pressure can lead districts, principals, or teachers to cheat, so they can keep their jobs or keep their funding (A. Levine & M. Levine, 2012). Teacher, principal and district salaries are based on rigorous escalations based on student standardized test scores. It can also determine who is hired and fired, which schools receive funding, and how much money they will receive (A. Levine & M. Levine, 2012). The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a conditional grant (p. 81) defined as federal grants with provisions requiring state and local governments to follow certain policies in order to obtain funds, implemented by standards raised in 2001 by the Bush administration. The requirement made by NCL...... middle of paper ......uchico.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=88915b21-2471-4fbe-b4ef-e2ff4647ea69%40sessionmgr4002&vid=3&hid=4213 . March 3, 2014. Pianta, Robert C. and Progress Center for American. “Implementing Observation Protocols: Lessons for K-12 Early Childhood Education.” Center for American Progress (2012): ERIC. http://www.eric.ed.gov.mantis.csuchico.edu/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICSServlet?accno=ED535604. May 4, 2014. Shelly, Bryan. “Flexible Response: Executive Federalism and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.” Education Policy 26.1 (2012): 117-135. ERIC. http://epx.sagepub.com.mantis.csuchico.edu/content/26/1/117.full.pdf+html. March 3, 2014. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, ESEA Blueprint for Reform, Washington DC, 2010. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/ leg/blueprint/blueprint.pdf. March 29. 2014.