The Commonwealth of Virginia will probably pull out of the NCLB and forfeit the Federal money. The SOL standards in VA are some of the highest in the nation and the little bit of $$ may not be worth the extra regs.
Be careful when people tell you about the "extra restrictions" or rules or regulations. There are a lot of people out there, including local govt. types, who are saying that the are restrictions on certain things under NCLB...the thing is...many of those restrictions either do not exist in the act or are misrepresented. I have seen School District admins do this.
Some teachers and admins and advocates out there simply don't want be held accountable. So they will misrepresent the law to parents,public,etc. in hopes that they can get rid of NCLB. And it also give them a chance to blame every problem on NCLB. And most of the time the problem has to do with decisions made by the administration.
In my full time career, I have to deal with govt. policy all the time and as a result, have to deal with folks who will misrepresent policies for their own gain. I just wish that in my part time job, which is (IMO) important work and valued time, folks would not play that game.
Funny, you mentioned idea of standards of learning.
I just had a talk with "my advisor" about the same subject. Recently one of my relatives, who has PH.Ds in Education and School Psych and deals with this stuff full time, floored me with reality. I was excited about claims that students in my district ranked among the best in the country.
She alerted me to the reality that there is no real measurement to prove that. One area's test may not compare with another. She showed me examples of the different State tests...and it was easy to see that when different areas claim to have some of the best educational standards...the idea of best educational standards is relative. It was a harsh reality. I am just glad I got to think about this after the last day of school (which for the second year in a row...I was assigned to a class for the day). I was able to enjoy the last day. When I sub, I usually see a lot of the same students. So the last day is always a fun time because you get to hear all the plans the kids have for summer and what they are looking forward too. I might not get to sit in for teachers next year as much as I did this year (due to scheduling in a field that is as rewarding). So the last day was a big deal.
Hope the kids in VA have a good summer.