President Barack Obama's agenda for change is nothing if not ambitious. In the midst of campaigning for health insurance reform, plugging job creation and waging two wars, the president sent to Congress his ideas for changes to the No Child Left Behind law.

His fixes make a lot of sense, and, while Congress members likely will have some ideas of their own, they should move swiftly to repair the current broken law.

Obama is focusing on NCLB's most egregious weaknesses, some of which we have criticized on this page. Among other things, he wants to end the policy of designating a school as "failing" when it makes "inadequate" progress in any one of numerous student-testing categories.

The law, former President George W. Bush's signature domestic policy, demands that schools test students, grouped according to ethnicity, race, parents' income, disability, and ability to speak English. Each group's scores on math and language tests have to meet a level of progress annually that would result in all children testing at grade level by 2014. Attendance for each group also must be "adequate."

The goal of raising all children, even those with a wide range of disabilities, to grade level was always unrealistic. And punishing "failing" schools by withholding federal funds and forcing them to bus students to other schools, restructure or close is draconian.

The emphasis on teaching to specific tests in order to reach NCLB benchmarks has led some schools to reduce or eliminate arts, physical education, technical and other courses. Even history and civics have been left behind in some parts of the country so teachers can focus on testing. And there is evidence of schools dumbing down tests so students can pass them.

Obama would end the "failing" designation except for schools that are truly failing in many areas, and those would get federal help to improve. The focus, instead, would be on each student's academic growth. That would be a positive change, but would require new ways of measuring achievement and more data collection.

He supports a nationwide set of academic standards. The concept has been accepted in principle by most states, and the National Governors Association has drafted a set of standards to replace the patchwork now in place. Standardizing curricula, textbooks and teaching methods will require significant changes in every state.

We believe Obama is on the right track. He has bipartisan support, and he should push ahead. Change takes time and when it comes to education there's no time to waste.