Basically, as a part of No Child Left Behind, we're expected to meet proficiency in reading and math by the year 2013 or 14.

NPR: A Principal's View of 'No Child Left Behind'

While we should maintain the law's strong focus on getting kids to proficiency in reading and math, grade-level math and reading skills are just the beginning of what children will need to succeed in 21st-century workplaces.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Bush has called for a testing regimen to help get lagging or failed schools on track, saying student proficiency in reading and math must be measured so parents will know whether their children are advancing equitably -- and so school administrators will know if their teachers are performing up to locally established standards.

CNN: Bush impatient with Congress on education bill

Proficiency scores in reading, writing, science and mathematics for American teenagers in their last year of high school all fell between 1992 and 2005.

ECONOMIST: Will reading and writing remain important?

First Florida started grading its schools from A to F, based on the proficiency and progress of pupils in annual reading, writing, maths and science tests.

ECONOMIST: Conservative education reform

At Maria's school, half the students don't pass Arizona's proficiency exams, which means they don't meet the bar for basic knowledge in math, reading and science.

CNN: Student's success defies all odds