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Atlanta — U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings kicked off back-to-school season by highlighting a summer of great gains for the nation's schoolchildren.

"As you know, the results have made big headlines. And the news is good," Spellings told the Press Club Newsmakers Luncheon in Atlanta. "We've gotten assessment results from over half the states, and we're seeing higher math or reading scores in almost every one."

Spellings also cited the Nation's Report Card, which recently reported all-time high test scores and record-low achievement gaps.

"More students are learning. The achievement gap is starting to close. And the No Child Left Behind Act is working," Spellings told the audience of educators and business and media professionals.

Citing examples from schools in several states, including Woodland Middle School in Fulton County, Ga., Spellings credited the results to dedicated teachers and principals basing their decisions on sound data and assessments.

"Woodland Middle School made Adequate Yearly Progress for the first time ever. It's an honor to have Principal [Will] Bradley with us here today," Spellings said. "Schools are doing whatever it takes to leave no child behind.... For the first time ever, we are looking ourselves in the mirror and holding ourselves accountable for educating every child."

Spellings spoke about her travels across the country, "listening to local officials and teachers to see how we can help them get the job done."

"No Child Left Behind is a partnership, not a mandate," she said. "I take that partnership seriously."

Spellings said she has kept her promise to help states "implement this law in a sensible and workable way"—as long as they enforce the bright lines of the law, such as annual assessments for all students.

"So it troubles me that in Connecticut, three years into the law and after taking more than $750 million for No Child Left Behind, on the eve of compliance, they are now disputing annual assessment requirements," said Spellings.

"Knowing where every child stands every year is sound education policy. Teachers can correct problems if they know what they are. Parents like me want to know whether their children are making progress every single year. That's just common sense and what federal taxpayers have a right to expect for investing in education in Connecticut and in every other state." Spellings also spoke of the need to get parents more involved in their children's education.

"I know it isn't always easy, especially with all the educational acronyms like AYP, HQT and SES flying around," she said. "We need to help families make sense of it all. That's why No Child Left Behind requires schools to regularly reach out to parents."

Although proud of the progress, Spellings said more must be done. "It's no coincidence that 9- and 13-year-olds made the biggest gains on the Nation's Report Card, and scores for 17-year-olds stayed pretty flat," she said. "Test scores here in the Southeast and around the country have never been higher. Now we must bring that same can-do attitude to our high schools."

Spellings concluded by evoking a common back-to-school emotion: the pride that parents feel from seeing their children begin college, including her own.

"I want all parents to have [that] chance," she said. "There's no better feeling in the world."

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