Romney applauds student measurement in No Child Left Behind

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --Massachusetts has not been impacted by the federal No Child Left Behind law because it was testing public school students before it was enacted, Gov. Mitt Romney said Thursday, but he supports it because such measurement is necessary to improve schools.

Romney, addressing a commission taking testimony in preparation for a congressional reauthorization debate scheduled for next year, said testing identifies problematic schools that can then be helped through funding, teacher training and student programs.

"We all want to be successful based on our rhetoric, not actual, measurable results, and I'm afraid that in the world marketplace, our kids are only going to be successful based on their performance, and that requires measurement," the governor told the No Child Left Behind Commission during a hearing at Lesley University.

He added: "I think the president was right to insist on measurement. I think the measurements themselves have a long way to be perfected, and a lot of room for improvement."

The law, enacted in 2002, provides additional education funding to states in return for student testing in reading and math every year in Grades 3-8, as well as at least once in high school.