The driving theory behind the federal No Child Left Behind law is that every child has a right to educational success.

There's no argument with that theory. But equal opportunity does not always equate to equal ability.

That applies to individual students as well as schools. Each student and each school is a complex mix of ability and opportunity, and it's unreasonable to expect each school to proceed at the same pace of achievement.

Still, as The Advertiser reported this week, some schools with more obstacles than most have managed to achieve or even exceed expectations.

What is the "magic bullet" that allows schools such as Hau'ula Elementary or Ma'ili Elementary to succeed where others are struggling?

There is none. Each school offers its own chemistry, and each school demands its own solutions.

But there are some common threads.

These include a rigorous curriculum (not necessarily the same curriculum, but one that shares the standard of rigor applied by teachers, students and parents alike), and a dedicated staff led by a dynamic principal who will not accept the status quo.

These campuses also understand that education involves more than what occurs during the limited hours of the school day. It means involving parents, community and others in the school after hours and weekends.

It's easy enough to point to a successful school and its approach, including off-the-shelf supplementary educational programs, as "the answer."

But clearly what works in one school environment may not work in another.

The pressure of No Child inevitably leads to standardization: standardization of curriculum, standardization of testing and standardization of results.

High standards are fine. But the key is to set high standards, then step aside and let individual school leaders, committed to standards and rigor in education, do what they know best.

That won't be the same at every school.