U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today made the following statement on the release of the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind "Beyond NCLB: Fulfilling the Promise to Our Nations' Children" report:

Every child in America deserves a good education, regardless of race, income or zip code. That is why lawmakers from both sides of the aisle came together to craft the No Child Left Behind Act five years ago, shining a spotlight on our achievement gap and creating accountability for the schools that serve our students.

The Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind report "Beyond NCLB: Fulfilling the Promise to Our Nations' Children" released today illustrates the broad, bipartisan commitment to improving our nation's schools that was behind the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The Commission's recommendations recognize the solid foundation built by NCLB and reaffirm the law's core principles including accountability, high standards and having all students reading and doing math at grade level by 2014.

The report supports many of the key proposals advanced in President Bush's "Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening the No Child Left Behind Act" that was released last month. I am encouraged that the Commission addressed embedding growth models in the law to measure student achievement over time, the pressing need for highly qualified teachers in every classroom, and more significant interventions and critical resources for schools that are chronically underperforming.

Co-chairs Secretary Tommy Thompson and Gov. Roy Barnes have my gratitude for their dedication to reauthorizing and improving the law. I welcome their help in moving the renewal process forward. I also look forward to working with them and their colleagues in the coming weeks and months as we urge Congress to reauthorize the law. There is no better time than now to recommit to educating all of America's students.

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