Earlier this week, I spoke at the National Math Panel Forum at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. There, leading mathematicians, teachers, researchers, and policymakers gathered to discuss how to spread the findings of the National Math Advisory Panel to homes and classrooms across the country. This panel, composed of 19 experts who have a combined six centuries of experience in the mathematics field, was created by President Bush to determine the best ways of teaching and learning math. Together, they spent two years reviewing over 16,000 research studies to come up with their recommendations. I was proud to receive their final report this past March.

This report represents our nation’s body of research-based strategies to improve math instruction. It contains lots of useful information for students and families. For example, effort and persistence count! And there are many things parents can do at home to give their kids a solid foundation in school - it can be as simple as talking about fractions when you’re at home cooking dinner, or when you make change at the grocery store.

The need for knowledge of these concepts has never been greater or more urgent. Nearly half of our 17-year-olds lack the math skills needed to work on the production line of a modern auto plant when they finish high school. Math-related jobs are growing at three times the rate of other jobs. Yet the U.S. ranks 25th out of 30 developed nations in math literacy and problem solving.

Thanks to No Child Left Behind, we have a lot more information than we did six years ago, because states test kids annually, disaggregate that data, and provide consequences like getting kids extra help. We know which students are falling behind, and where. Now that we have this information, our challenge is to do something about it! We need to make the Math Panel’s recommendations actionable in our classrooms and at home.

Read More »

Secretary Spellings delivers remarks titled "Educating America: The Will and the Way Forward" at Harvard University.

Earlier this week I was honored to speak at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, named for 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.

While I was there, I was proud to announce a plan to make the process of applying for federal financial aid simpler and easier for students and families.

The current application form is 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 that, coupled with other financial aid reforms, will provide real-time information on how much aid students can expect to receive, as opposed to how much they and their families are expected to contribute under the current system. This will put students in the driver’s seat, with more time to investigate their options.

While I was in Boston, I also visited Charlestown High School, where Teacher Ambassador Fellow Steven Berbeco teaches Arabic. I spoke to students there about my financial aid plan and also shared a new online resource, www.college.gov, to help families prepare for college. I hope that you’ll check it out, too!

See my remarks, the press release, and a fact sheet on our effort to simply the process of applying for student aid.

Secretary Spellings at the Aspen Institute

Because of No Child Left Behind, we have much more information than we did six years ago to tell us how students and schools are performing.

We also need to know, how are we doing as a nation?

For years, we’ve measured our economy with the Leading Economic Indicators. Today I was proud to announce the Leading Education Indicators at the Aspen Institute’s National Education Summit.

These five indicators show us national trends to answer many of parents’ most pressing questions, including, do our kids know how to read and do math? Are minority students lagging behind their classmates? Are students graduating from high school on time? Are they prepared for college work? And have they earned a degree?

The indicators are national, results-based, and reliable. Together with NCLB, they provide a barometer of success.

See my remarks, a fact sheet on the Leading Education Indicators, photos, and the National Education Summit website.

Secretary Spellings visits F.L. Stanton Elementary School in Atlanta.

Today, I traveled to F.L. Stanton Elementary in Atlanta, Georgia, to announce the 2008 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools. Under Principal Marlo Barber’s leadership, F.L. Stanton’s students have made the greatest gains in their Congressional district in recent years. Nearly all are from low-income families, and nearly nine out of ten are now reading and doing math at or above grade level.

How did this progress happen? With the help of measurement and data. Teachers gauge student achievement regularly and offer targeted extra help – an approach that’s common to all of this year’s 320 Blue Ribbon Schools. This data-driven approach to helping students improve was pioneered by states like Georgia, and today, it’s the foundation of No Child Left Behind.

After visiting F.L. Stanton, I hosted a roundtable discussion with principals, superintendents, and business and foundation leaders. State Superintendent Kathy Cox and I talked about the fact that while preliminary data show a decline in the number of Georgia schools meeting annual goals, the state also deserves credit for introducing a new math assessment aligned to more rigorous standards. More demanding coursework often results in a temporary decline in test scores, but its long-term benefits include a more educated workforce and greater economic security.

As Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall said, “Everyone knows that the second half of the climb is the toughest. The next phase of our school reform agenda will be more challenging…[and] will require agility, creative use of staff, resources, and the knowledge of how to conquer the rocky terrain of total district reform.” I fully agree, and I’m confident Georgia’s up for the challenge – Blue Ribbon Schools like F.L. Stanton are already leading the way.

See the NCLB Blue Ribbon Schools website, data on Georgia’s education progress and photos from the visit in Atlanta.