First lady backs yearly testing

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. first lady Laura Bush says she disagrees with critics who charge the 2002 No Child Left Behind education act puts too much emphasis on testing.

Bush called annual testing in reading and math for children "the most important piece of the law," USA Today reported Wednesday.

"We would never go to a doctor and say, 'I'm sick, you can't try to diagnose me. . .you can't use any kind of test," Bush told the newspaper in an interview.

She rejected claims that the education law, which is up for reauthorization, has forced schools to concentrate on reading and math to the detriment of other subjects such as science and the arts.

Bush called it a "tragedy" that Democrats in Congress have killed the administration's $1 billion-a-year Reading First program.

She told USA Today she thinks No Child Left Behind will be a lasting part of the legacy of her husband, U.S. President George Bush.