States and local communities in the United States gained more control over education standards and testing last week. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the education reforms into law last week. After more than 10 years, members of Congress from both parties have come together to revise our national education law, Obama said. This law focuses on a national goal of ensuring that all of our students graduate prepared for college and future careers. The new education reform law urges the 50 state governments to limit how many and how often students take tests. The law limits the high-stakes nature of the testing for underperforming schools. And the national government will not be able to tell states and communities how to evaluate schools and teacher performance. But states and schools must still give reading and math exams in grades three through eight, and in high school. The states will have more authority in setting standards for the tests. Congress passed the measure easily. Republicans and Democrats supported it. The new law replaces the No Child Left Behind measure approved in 2002.