Twenty Years of Failing the Schools To fix education, Biden must not only undo Trumpâs legacy but reverse two decades of a disastrous âreformâ movement. President Joe Biden will have his work cut out in repairing the damage done to U.S. education caused by Donald Trump and his one-time Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. But Biden and his Secretary of Education nominee, Miguel Cardona, must also reverse at least twenty years of federal education policy, starting over with measures that allow teachers to teach and children to learn without fear of federal sanctions. Since the enactment of George W. Bushâs No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2002, the nationâs public schools have been required to administer standardized tests in reading and mathematics to every student in grades three through eight, a practice unknown in any high-performing nation. These tests have high stakes for students (who might fail to be promoted), teachers (who might be fired if their studentsâ test scores donât rise), and schools (which might be closed if test scores donât go up).