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U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings this evening delivered a speech entitled Educating America: The Will and the Way Forward at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Following are the Secretary's remarks:

Thank you. It is an honor to be here.

Let me start by thanking Professor Paul Peterson and the faculty of the Kennedy School for your gracious welcome. I also want to congratulate Bill Purcell on his recent appointment as Director of the Institute of Politics.

Allow me to honor the person for whom this school is named: President John F. Kennedy. He and his brothers have been the very models of public service.

Especially my friend Ted Kennedy, who, to no one's surprise, is fighting just as hard to win his own personal battle as he does on behalf of the nation's children. Like the poet Tennyson said, he may have been "made weak by time and fate," but he is "strong in will."

That unwavering will has inspired public servants on both sides of the aisle. I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with Sen. Kennedy to pass the President's No Child Left Behind Act. He helped create a spirit of bipartisanship from day one. Frankly, it was a stark contrast to what we've seen on display in Congress this week.

In Washington, if you can put partisan differences aside in a presidential election year, you qualify as a saint—or at least a statesman! It's been quite a race, hasn't it? Six months ago, we all thought we'd see a veteran white-haired senator debate a dynamic female leader. We just didn't know their names would be Joe Biden and Sarah Palin!

It's useful to look back on the first televised presidential debate in 1960, between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy. Something Senator Kennedy said then sadly still rings true today.

A black child, he said, "has about one-half as much chance to get through high school," and about "one-third as much chance to get through college as a white student."

Nearly half a century later, black students still drop out at twice the rate as white students. It's a tragedy that we leave so much potential behind – a tragedy for them, and for all of us.

Black students are also one and a half times more likely to be put in special education, and 3 times as likely to be labeled as having an intellectual disability. Often it's an undiagnosed reading problem, which could be solved quickly.

But often, the system stamps kids with this label in the early grades, and they're stuck with it for years. And they don't ever get out of special ed—at least until they drop out.

That's what the President calls the "soft bigotry of low expectations." And it's wrong.

President Lincoln said America cannot long survive half-free. I believe it cannot long survive half-educated, either.

That's why we need to ask ourselves, is our education system all it should be? Is it preparing all of our children for success in college and the workforce? Is it giving them the skills to make a difference in solving the vital issues of the day—poverty and hunger, energy and prosperity, war and peace?

In all candor, we must answer no.

When I talk about reform, the response I get is often, "Oh, that's not for our children. That's for other people's kids. My child's school is just fine. I made sure of it."

"Other people's kids." You would think we were asking for the stars and the moon—for something that's undoable and unreasonable. We're not. We're asking our schools to bring our kids to grade level in reading and math by 2014.

That's what I want for my kids. That's what you want for yours. And what your parents wanted for you. Why would we think other families want less for theirs?

We cannot be content with having some good schools and some bad ones. A bright future for some and not for others. We live in a global economy—not a gated community!

But the education system doesn't act like it. Much of the time, it stifles talent instead of nurturing it, rewards ineffective teachers but offers few incentives for results and denies problems rather than solve them.

Unlike other countries, our schools are stuck in the rut of "six hours a day, 180 days a year." The term "24/7" has little meaning in today's classroom. As Gov. Jeb Bush put it, we have "eight-track schools in an iPod world."

Fortunately, some are challenging the status quo. Charter schools like KIPP Academy and Edward Brooke right here in Boston are lengthening the school day and year. They're spending more time on basic subjects. They're customizing instruction and treating students as individuals. Some schools are even paying teachers for results.

This is one of the most controversial issues in education—and it shouldn't be. Why wouldn't we encourage the best teachers to work in the most challenging environments? Why shouldn't we reward them for raising achievement levels? It's a good idea. And that's why the President and Congress worked together to establish the Teacher Incentive Fund, which allows districts to do just that.

The No Child Left Behind Act is also spurring change and innovation. Earlier this year I visited Sequoyah Middle School in Georgia. Three-fourths of its students were born outside the U.S. And they were not being given the education they deserve. After five straight years of underperformance, Sequoyah was restructured. A new principal and teachers were hired. A rigorous curriculum was adopted. And the students responded, turning that school around. Diversity can no longer be used as an excuse for poor performance.

With No Child Left Behind, we have shifted the national conversation. Instead of asking how much we're spending, we're finally asking whether students are learning—and we're holding ourselves accountable to change if they aren't.

We have a lot more information than we did six years ago. It's because states test kids annually, disaggregate the data, and attach consequences to it. We now know how our kids are doing.

And let me tell you, they're proving the critics wrong. Critics like social scientist and Harvard alum Charles Murray argue that some kids are "just not smart enough" to achieve. His words—not mine.

I hear smart people say that the goal of grade-level proficiency by 2014 is "absurd." I hear educators say you can't fix reading and math without dropping music and art. I hear them say that students with disabilities or limited English skills drag down everyone else.

That's wrong. In fact, they're making some of the biggest gains in the country!

Let me quote my friend, Harvard grad Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of Washington, D.C. Schools. She says that, "To respond… with anything but radical change … is an insult to the dignity, potential and creativity of our children."

Instead of blaming our kids, we need to start serving their needs—even if that makes a few grown-ups uncomfortable. Reform is never easy. And it's never finished.

That's why we need the support of the higher education community. You have major skin in this game. You pick up where K-12 schools leave off, paying the price with remedial coursework and lost opportunities.

Over the past three decades, our federal investment in higher education tripled. Yet college enrollment and attainment is virtually flat. In 1975, America was number one in college completion rates. In 2005, we were number 10.

Let me give you a more personal example. Last year, I sent back to the U.S. Treasury more than 500 million dollars in unused academic grants for low-income college students. Why? Because not enough had been offered or taken rigorous coursework in high school—coursework essential for college admission and success.

So we may have the will. But it's the way that has me worried.

Three years ago, I asked some of the brightest minds in business, academia, and government to serve on my Higher Education Commission. They offered thoughtful solutions to improve access, affordability, and accountability. They debated ways to make higher ed more agile, efficient, and responsive. In fact, they kicked off a national dialogue for change.

One area that requires radical change is federal financial aid. I'm guessing many of you students have filled out this form, the "FAFSA." That's catchy.

It's 6 pages long, has more than 120 questions and it asks how old you are three different ways. It makes you wish for tax day!

It's red tape like this that keeps 40 percent of college students from even applying for federal aid. That's nearly 8 million students. And we believe most would have been eligible for assistance.

We should be knocking down barriers, not putting up hurdles. It starts with a new form.

Instead of filling out this, you'd fill out this. It has only 27 questions.

This new form, coupled with other financial aid reforms, will provide real-time information on how much aid you can expect to receive, as opposed to how much you and your family are expected to contribute under the current system. This will put you in the driver's seat, with more time to investigate your options.

I've been working with Congress on this issue. They asked my department to recommend how to best simplify the form. Then they added seven new questions to it when they renewed the Higher Education Act. That's Washington for you!

I've been proud to be part of an administration that is knocking down barriers to college access. We raised the maximum Pell grant award from about thirty-seven hundred dollars to more than forty-seven hundred dollars. About 2.2 million more students are receiving federal aid.

But, as I'm sure you know, Pell has not kept pace with rising tuition.

While Harvard's 35-billion-dollar endowment will help you graduate with less debt, others are not so lucky. The average private school graduate leaves college $20,000 in debt. One in 10 carries $40,000.

This often closes the door to opportunities like public service or teaching. So does the current credit crisis, and I hope Congress will pass a financial rescue plan that ensures that private student lending is not disrupted. I know they can do it, because we came together last spring in a bipartisan fashion to ensure that federal student aid was available this school year.

These are just a few of the changes we need. And we need to act, now.

Let me say a word to the students in the audience. In these consequential times, I know you are eager to make a difference. And you will have the means to do it. You've been blessed with one of the finest educations in the world. You're earning not just a degree, but status as a role model in society.

Have the will to use it—to pay it forward. Help a child learn how to read. Volunteer to make your community safer. Ask a teacher what he or she needs—or better yet, become a teacher. Visit the institutes that will help drive education policy, like the new Education Innovation Lab, right here at Harvard.

You never know where your efforts will lead you. But your leadership is needed. Because where Harvard leads, others follow.

Service is what inspired me to get involved in education. It inspired the creation of the Kennedy School. And I know it inspires you.

I can't wait to see what you'll achieve, for yourself, your country, and our children.

Thank you. I would be happy to answer your questions.

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