Twelve years ago, No Child Left Behind set out to ensure that by 2014, all students would reach proficient levels on state tests. With the big deadline just around the corner, eight states are far from ready, with up to 74% of schools in these states missing the mark. Not that the other 42 states and DC are prepared – no, they opted to get waivers from the mandate.

Of the remaining states, three – Illinois, Iowa, and Wyoming – have waiver applications pending, but for the rest, the costs of not making the grade may be high and, in some cases, unachievable. For example, while NCLB promises that a child can choose to move to another school, in Montana, another school may be a significant distance away. And while many schools in states missing the deadline will need to continue providing tutors, in rural areas state-approved tutors are harder to come by. When asked about the consequences of missing the deadline, Education Secretary Arne Duncan advised Montana’s education head Denise Juneau to get a waiver. Hardly comforting. Indeed, when a federal mandate is so onerous that the government’s best advice is to request exemption from it, that’s a sure sign it was a bad idea to begin with. What’s next, ObamaCare waivers? Oh, wait…