This letter to the editor by Deputy Secretary Simon appeared in the Danvers Herald (MA) on March 31, 2006. It also appeared in the Marblehead Reporter and Amesbury News, MA.

I applaud Rep. John Tierney [D-Mass.] for embarking on his listening tour over the No Child Left Behind Act ("Our Children and Our Schools Deserve Better," March 23). On my own visits to schools, and in speaking with parents, I have heard two words more than most: thank you.

Thanks to No Child Left Behind, schools are finally taking seriously those students who were once left on the sidelines, including minority students, students with disabilities, and the financially disadvantaged. For the first time their test scores are being reported by group as well as individually so that teachers can address their specific academic needs.

We have provided the resources to meet those needs. Federal funding for No Child Left Behind has risen 40 percent to a proposed $24 billion. Title I funding for the most disadvantaged students has increased 45 percent since 2001. And Special Education (IDEA) grants to states have risen nearly 70 percent. Just this month we released $30 million in pilot Striving Readers grants to school districts in Massachusetts and elsewhere, to give teachers proven intervention strategies to reach students who have fallen behind.

Schools deserve the credit for making this law work. Reading scores of 9-year-olds nationwide have increased more over the last five years than in the previous 28 years combined.

"We have seen the results in my own state of Massachusetts," declared Sen. Edward Kennedy [D-Mass.] last year. "Student achievement is up across the board in both reading and math. We've made significant progress in educating children with disabilities."

All children want is the opportunity to learn and succeed. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, we're finally listening.

Raymond Simon is the U.S. deputy secretary of education.