Using data from one "successful" school district, I argue that, contrary to its egalitarian rhetoric, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) provides a mechanism for identifying the many whom Hernstein and Murray would exclude from schooling beyond the elementary grades because they cannot learn enough to justify the expense of their teaching. To challenge this conservative agenda in neoliberal clothing, teachers, researchers and the public should contest the political, social, and economic assumptions on which NCLB rests and work to build institutions which revitalize democratic values and support the continuous development of all citizens.