Judd Gregg: “Yes, the State budget did zero out the assessment money, but that has nothing to do with this amendment. In fact, just…”

“Yes, the State budget did zero out the assessment money, but that has nothing to do with this amendment. In fact, just the opposite. Under the No Child Left Behind bill, the average cost of developing tests in New Hampshire is $300,000. Under No Child Left Behind, the State of New Hampshire receives $500,000 for every test it develops, at the various grade levels. So the State actually makes $200,000, and the legislature figured this out. That is why they zeroed it out, because they realized, instead of an unfunded mandate, what they were getting was more money than they needed to fund the test, and they intended to use that money to fund other parts of the State budget, and right now that is what the fight is about in New Hampshire. It has nothing to do with unfunded mandates.”