The President wants to improve education with his “No Child Left Behind Act."

Now, Wisconsin education leaders are trying to understand the effects the act will have on their students.

A three–day conference examining whether the act is working to the advantage of our children kicked off tonight on the UW campus.

The act has increased the role of the federal government in education, giving less power to the states and to local districts.

Organizers hope the series of speeches and public discussions will get people thinking and talking about the issue. Mary Mezt of the Department of Educational Policy Studies says, "It's important because most of the public doesn't know much at all about the law. It's having major consequences; it could completely change the character of public education.”

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all students to be proficient in reading, writing, and math by 2014. Some 31 percent of all U.S. public schools are flunking at math and reading.

The conference runs through Friday at the Pyle Center.