Join us at AEI for a conversation that will consider what the 2012 elections hold for education against the backdrop of the new book "Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit: Lessons from a Half-Century of Federal Efforts to Improve America's Schools," edited by AEI's Frederick M. Hess and Andrew P. Kelly.

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) increased federal involvement in America’s public schools by mandating state-imposed sanctions on schools failing to meet state-determined standards. Through NCLB, the federal government requires students in grades 3 through 8 to take standardized tests in reading and math. The law’s legitimacy rests...