In his weekly address, President Barack Obama shifted his focus for domestic reform from health care to plans to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Law, which focuses on accountability in the classroom.

Obama said he wants to better prepare students for life after high school and put the best teachers in the front of the classroom.

As the measure is perceived to have fallen short of its goals, the president said he will send Congress his plan for a sweeping overhaul.

"Under these guidelines, schools that achieve excellence or show real progress will be rewarded, and local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down," said Obama. "For the majority of schools that fall in between, schools that do well but could do better, we will encourage continuous improvement to help keep our young people on track for a bright future, prepared for the jobs of the 21st century."

Last year, the president launched the Race To The Top funding program, to push the nation's schools to raise standards and prepare more children for college or work, for the chance to win part of billions of dollars in federal educational aid.

New York is among the finalists for the grant program.

Meanwhile, in the Republicans' weekly address, the GOP's newest senator said the drive to pass health care legislation should be dropped.

Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts said Democrats and Obama are focused on a "bitter, destructive and endless drive" to pass their health care bill.

"An entire year has gone to waste, millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and many more jobs are in danger. Even now, the
president still hasn't gotten the message," said Brown. "Somehow, the greater the public opposition to the health care bill, the more determined they seem to force it on us anyway."

As a state senator in Massachusetts, Brown voted in favor of the universal-coverage health insurance law in that state.

Yet in his run for U.S. Senate, Brown promised to be the Republicans' crucial 41st vote against Obama's health plan.

Brown said his victory amounted to a message from voters that Washington should "get its priorities right.''