There is little that Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill can agree on these days, but one area of common ground is the need to reform No Child Left Behind. Since its enactment in 2002, public schools have struggled to comply with mandates of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Former President George W. Bush had the right idea about improving education and closing the student achievement gap between rich and poor communities. The intentions were good, but details of the legislation have bedeviled educators ever since its passage.

The law needs fixing. Lawmakers should not delay the necessary overhaul. Education is critically important to helping this country get back on track economically. As the worldwide job market improves, the best jobs will go to the best educated and American students deserve every opportunity to work themselves to the front of the pack.

President Barack Obama has been talking about education reform since the days he was campaigning for his job. And last week as part of his 2011 budget proposal he gave a preview of some of his ideas to reform federal education policy. Not surprisingly, they build upon his past education proposals, including Race to the Top, which rewards states and districts that make changes proven to boost achievement.

Rather than measure success by annual test scores and other data milestones, the Obama administration wants to give schools more flexibility in gauging achievement. Every school is different and cookie-cutter formulas don't work for education. Success in New London or Hartford is different from success in Old Lyme or Stonington. Students in more affluent communities come to school better prepared than their peers in economically distressed cities, making the hurdles higher for the city students than for those in the suburbs.

And that's just one difference. For many reasons, No Child Left Behind's one-size-fits-all approach has hurt more than helped many school districts, causing too many to be labeled as failing when really they are not.

Rather than track dropout rates and administer annual tests in reading and math, the president is recommending that by 2020 educators set the target of having all public-school students graduate from high school and ready for a career or college.

This is a place where lawmakers can do good work by finding agreement on improving the nation's public education framework. President Bush took the first step and President Obama wants to improve on it. Now it's time for Congress to help America's students.