Mansfield School Superintendent John Moretti has some simple advice for Congress as it begins work on reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind education bill: Scrap the law and start over again.

Moretti said the federal education reform law has some positive aspects, and it has brought attention to the need for high standards.

But, he said, the law has too many loopholes and is too inconsistent to be effective and fair.

One example is the testing used to determine if schools are making progress toward improvement goals.

Every state has a different curriculum and a different testing system. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, is considered a difficult test with high standards, he said.

Some other states, however, have relatively basic tests, he said.

As a result, many good Massachusetts schools have been put on a federal watch list because of their scores, while not a single school in Alabama or Mississippi is considered failing, he said.

"If we dumb down our tests, our kids are going to perform better," he said.

Moretti said there should be one national test to judge schools, so the playing field is level.

North Attleboro High School Principal Robert Gay agrees.

Gay said he would rather subject No Child Left Behind to major tweaking, rather than eliminate it.

Still, he said, the testing and other aspects of the law are misleading and unfair.

Gay said Massachusetts students always rate at or near the top when they take national tests such as the SAT's or the National Association of Education Progress.

Mississippi, he said, comes in first in the nation on its own easy test, but last in the United States on the National Association of Education Progress. Yet, with regard to No Child Left Behind, Mississippi is doing well while Massachusetts is struggling because it subjects students to a more challenging test, he said.

"Mississippi is considered successful and we are not. That's crazy. It's nuts," he said.

"We should be comparing apples to apples, not bannas to coconuts."

Not making adequately yearly progress has serious consequences.

The federal government can withhold funding and parents are allow to transfer their children out of a school that is considered to be failing.

U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, chairman of the education committee, is preparing to hold hearings on what needs to be done to reauthorize the five-year-old No Child Left Behind.

Kennedy was an early supporter of the law, but now wants changes of his own.

He has proposed funding to extend the length of the school day, more teacher training in struggling schools, modernization programs for high schools and putting more focus on schools in poor districts.

U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, said his major objection is to the lack of funding that came with the mandates the law imposed on schools.

McGovern said he hears complaints about funding in every school system in his district, which includes Attleboro, North Attleboro, Seekonk, Rehoboth, Plainville and Wrentham.

"I think most members of Congress have heard that message loud and clear," he said.

McGovern said school superintendents also tell him they want more flexibility in meeting the law's goals.

"Washington has to understand that one glove does not fit all," he said.

Gay, who has attended national conferences on the law, said he would put funding at the top of the priority list for changes, followed by a national test.

He said when a school is labeled as not meeting its goals, the school district has to switch funding from other programs to address the needs of that school.

"Superintendents are cannibalizing other parts of their schools districts to help the school that may be having trouble," he said.

In a speech Monday, Kennedy said the government has failed to keep its end of the bargain in education reform, falling $6 billion short per year in its funding.

"The law also promised increased funding levels over the life of its provisions in step with the increased targets for students performance," he said. "But, that commitment was not met."

Gay and Moretti said another major problem with the law is that it is tougher on good schools than failing ones.

It is easier to bring a school with low test scores up a few points every year than it is to improve the grades of a high-scoring school, they said.

As a result, some of the state's best schools are labeled inadequate because they were already near their peak when the law took effect.

Gay said it would be like branding Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez a failure if his batting average does not go up every year, even though he is one of the best hitters in baseball.

The law also requires that all students be proficient in math and English by 2014.

But, Moretti said there are certain students with problems that will prevent them from ever scoring proficient on the MCAS.

Despite all their complaints, the educators said there are many positive aspects to the law that should remain.

They said the law has not only put an emphasis on high standards, but has put the spotlight on students that traditionally have not prospered.

Special education, low-income and minority students should all benefit from requirements that their educations be brought up to standard, they said.