Most people have never heard of my hometown because Yorktown, a suburb of New York City in northern Westchester County, rarely makes it on to the national radar. When a friend recently told me that a New York Times article mentioned my town, I immediately checked it out, curious to see what sort of coverage Yorktown received. The article featured families who moved from New York City to Westchester County for the highly regarded public school system - only to find themselves dissatisfied with schools that didn't live up to their reputation. My rush of excitement quickly soured when two families hurled insults at the Yorktown public school system: "uninspiring," "unresponsive" and "unimaginative."

Other districts were criticized in the article too, targeted for having crowded classrooms, "barebones arts and sports programs" and teachers who taught to the test. Having spent my entire K-12 education in Yorktown Public Schools, though, these harsh judgments didn't seem to match up with my generally positive experience. Granted, Yorktown schools are far from perfect, yet it seems that individual public schools are taking flak for problems caused at a national, not a local, level.

The federal government's No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 aimed to make public schools more accountable through standardized testing and school choice for families in failing districts, but NCLB hurt public education more than it helped. This doesn't leave Westchester schools or any other public school system completely free of blame for their shortcomings, but parents and students should understand that many of problems in their local schools result from complying with federal programs, not from local ineptitude and neglect.

NCLB mandates annual testing in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and once during high school, with the addition of science to the list by end of the 2007-2008 school year. These provisions have created an educational system obsessed with standardized testing rather than imparting real and diverse knowledge. Teachers teach to the test because of pressure on schools to exceed state testing benchmarks - not necessarily because they are unoriginal.

The narrowing of school curricula allots less time to social studies and foreign languages in favor of reading and math, while inadequate funding has led to disastrous cuts in athletic and arts programs. In light of misguided federal policy, complaints must be leveled at national law instead of individual public school systems.

The New York Times piece did more, though, than just increase my distaste for current education policy. In the article, disappointed parents pulled their children out of the public schools to drive them to prestigious, pricey private schools as far away as New York City. What happens, though, in public school districts that actually are failing where parents can't afford to send their kids elsewhere?

Westchester County, like many other communities, has found itself insulated where the best is the best and the worst is still pretty good. I used to complain about lackluster teachers and the possible elimination of my eight-person advanced placement French program at my high school until I realized that the same federal laws affecting my school had a far greater effect on other public schools on a grander and more disturbing scale.

Consider Detroit's public school system, for example. Out of 225 public schools, 103 failed to meet NCLB standards, and the district lost an estimated 25,000 students this fall alone, partly due to NCLB option of school choice for parents in failing districts. Due to falling enrollment, Detroit looks to close 95 schools by 2009.

Parents watch their public schools lay off teachers, cut arts and sports programs and sometimes even lower the heat to deal with the effects of NCLB and underfunding. Yet with roughly a third of Detroit residents living below the poverty level, many parents don't have the option to seek out a private school for their children. It was an embarrassing moment when I realized I had lamented over a district that consistently outperforms districts in more dire straits.

Due to NCLB, public schools are being punished instead of corrected, and families flee while nothing is being fixed. This problem is as present in Yorktown as it is in Detroit. Despite these flawed federal education policies, we shouldn't give up on the public school system. Public education is worth fighting for because it offers a less expensive educational and social experience for children. If the country sticks to this precarious federal course, some privileged children may get ahead, but it will be the public schools that are unfortunately left behind.

Rachel Wagner is an LSA junior and a member of the Daily's editorial board.