Despite society's attempts, education and politics are not separate entities in the United States. For years they have been intertwined with each other, especially when it comes to assessing student's capabilities with annual testing. Perhaps one of the most recent ways that education has overlapped with politics was the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This Act, passed by George W. Bush, made it mandatory for each state to develop ways of assessing basic skills in public schools if they are to continue receiving federal funds. The idea that these standardized tests would set high standards and ideals for students started off as a good course of action to guarantee students are receiving the best education possible. However, the presence of mandatory tests means that every teacher in the public school realm is teaching to a specific test. Depending on how good the teacher is, this can be either a really good thing or a terrible thing. Some teachers who have much experience and education are fully capable to efficiently teach their students the material, as well as teaching toward the standardized test. The trouble is found when those teachers with less talent begin to teach only to achieve results on a government-mandated exam. Overtones of this are seen in Doctorow's novel when the students' actions and behaviors are constantly monitored. Through Marcus, Doctorow shows his frustration with the government and how over-exaggerated their restrictions on students are. The goals of keeping such close tabs on students are similar to the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act in that they strive to monitor the progress of students. While both of these techniques are successful to a certain extent, they both have their flaws, especially regarding personal independence and personal growth.
