Thank you, Leslie Collins. I'm excited to be here to kick off back-to-school season. It's my first back-to-school as secretary of education, but I've been doing these for well over a decade as a mom. It's a return to the school-year routine. And that means putting away the video games, checking up on homework, talking to teachers, and of course, asking lots and lots of questions. I always like to say that back-to-school isn't just for students and teachers. It's back-to-school for parents, too.

And this year, that meant a lot of heavy lifting for me. I just got back from dropping my oldest daughter off at college for the first time. You know how it works. They pack the boxes, and we lug them up and down the steps. In seriousness, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. And I'm going to miss her a whole lot—though it will be nice to have some hot water left over for my morning shower again.

I still have one daughter at home. She's going into eighth grade. And like almost 55 million kids across the country, she'll be heading back to school during the next few weeks.

I'm sure their teachers will be happy to hear many of these children have been doing a lot of reading this summer. My daughters, like millions of other children around the world, have been reading and then re-reading Harry Potter.

So it's a good bet that our kids haven't been thinking about assessments much these past few months. But as you know, the results have made big headlines. And the news is good. We've gotten assessment results from over half the states, and we're seeing higher math or reading scores in almost every one. In other words, more students are learning. The achievement gap is starting to close. And No Child Left Behind is working.

And nowhere is it working better than here in the Southeastern United States. That's because folks around here get it. Education down here isn't about politics. It's about standards and accountability for results for all students. And it's been a bipartisan effort for a long time. Southern governors like Jim Hunt, Zell Miller, Richard Riley, George W. Bush, and Lamar Alexander, whom I'm visiting tomorrow in Tennessee, raised the bar. They looked in the mirror and saw their schools needed improvement. And they knew that with higher standards, schools could do better.

The Christian Science Monitor recently called the great results we're seeing "vindication" for a generation of Southern leaders. And as a Texan, let me say it feels good. We were country before country was cool.

In July, we got the results of the latest Nation's Report Card. It shows how students have fared in reading and math over the last three decades. And students in the Southeastern United States have made the biggest gains. That's because you understand that what gets measured gets done. You understand that if you want to improve schools, you must focus on the neediest kids.

Reading scores for nine-year-olds in the region increased by 13-points over just the last five years. That's a 25-point increase since 1971. For those of you unfamiliar with the Nation's Report Card, a double-digit increase is enormous. And a 25-point increase in reading is almost unheard of.

We saw great results at the national level as well:

• Reading scores for 9-year-olds increased more over the last five years than in all the years between 1971 and 1999 combined. And African-American and Hispanic students posted the biggest gains.
• In math, 9- and 13-year-olds' scores also reached all-time highs. Hispanic 9-year-olds alone saw their scores rise by 17 points over just the last five years!

This is big news because as you know, we're not talking about just any old test. The Nation's Report Card is the gold standard of assessment. Back in Texas, we like to say, "In God we trust—all others bring data." And with this data, we can see we're moving in the right direction.

When we passed the No Child Left Behind Act four years ago, we made a commitment to doing something that no country has ever done. We set out to close the achievement gap within the next decade. For the first time ever, we are looking ourselves in the mirror and holding ourselves accountable for educating every child. That means all children, no matter their race or income level or zip code.

I just visited Capitol View Elementary School here in Atlanta. It's what we call a 90-90-90 school. That means over 90 percent of the students are minority. Over 90 percent of the students are disadvantaged. And over 90 percent of the students are meeting state standards in reading and math. Over 90 percent!

And Capitol View isn't alone. Over 80 percent of Georgia's schools met state standards for Adequate Yearly Progress for all groups of students. And that's in a year when Georgia raised its standards for academic achievement.

We're seeing students once left behind lead the way. Over 81 percent of third-graders with disabilities met Georgia's standards for reading. That's a 26-point increase from 2002. We're challenging what President Bush calls the "soft bigotry of low expectations." It's a simple formula. Students rise to the challenge of high expectations. You get more when you expect more. What gets measured gets done.

We know every child can achieve high standards. And that's why we're asking states to annually assess all students in grades 3-8 to make sure they do. This assessment data gives teachers and principals a valuable tool for improving student performance.

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. 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.

At places like Woodland Middle School in southern Fulton County, it's a different story. Woodland is a mostly minority school with a high poverty rate. In 2002, only 43 percent of seventh-graders could do math on grade level. Principal Will Bradley knew his students could do better. He and his teachers used assessment data to see which students needed extra help and which teaching methods worked best. It's become a familiar sight to see Principal Bradley walking up and down the school's hallways with notebooks full of data.

The hard work is paying off. Over 75 percent of seventh graders met state standards in reading and math last year, and Woodland Middle School made Adequate Yearly Progress for the first time ever. It's an honor to have Principal Bradley with us here today.

We're hearing stories like this all across the country. Schools are doing whatever it takes to leave no child behind—from Saturday help sessions in Chatham County, N.C. to free tutoring for struggling students at Mollie Ray Elementary School in Florida to a longer school day in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Think about it. If it weren't for No Child Left Behind, I'm not sure we would even be talking about how to educate every child. I'm not here to tell states and districts how to do their jobs. Leaders like Kathy Cox and Wanda Barrs are getting the job done at the state level. Kathy is your state superintendent, and Wanda is the chair of the state board of education here in Georgia. And I appreciate them being here today, and I appreciate their "can-do" attitude and commitment to this law.

Education is still primarily a state and local issue. I know that from my days working in the Texas state legislature and on behalf of local school boards. The federal role in education has always been to complement states' efforts and to look out for the neediest kids.

That's why No Child Left Behind is a partnership, not a mandate. It's an agreement that says, if you take federal taxpayer dollars for education, you must accept responsibility for increasing student achievement.

I take that partnership seriously. When I was confirmed by the Senate back in January, I promised to work with folks at the state and local level to implement this law in a sensible and workable way. And we are.

For example, we're helping 36 states develop modified assessments for students with disabilities who need additional time and intensive instruction. And we'll keep working with states to make sure all students with disabilities get ahead in school.

But I also know that we're not having school at the U.S. Department of Education. Real learning happens in real classrooms with real teachers. And I've been traveling around the country listening to local officials and teachers to see how we can help them get the job done. And today I'm proud to announce we're going to bring that conversation online with our new Teachers Ask the Secretary section of our Web site at ed.gov. I'm looking forward to hearing from teachers across the country. They're on the frontlines. And I need their input.

We're open to new ideas, just so long as we keep annually assessing students, breaking down results by student groups, and insisting on high standards for everyone. Right now we're exploring how we can give schools credit for improving student achievement over time by using growth models to measure progress. And we're also convening a working group of researchers and educators to study how we can best measure the progress of students new to the English language.

When families immigrate to this country, they deserve to know their children will receive a quality education at any public school. And we have a responsibility to reach out to these families to help get them involved. I know it isn't always easy, especially with all the educational acronyms like AYP, HQT, and SES flying around. To a lot of people, it sounds like alphabet soup. 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.

As a result, schools are starting to go the extra mile to communicate with parents. At Gainesville Elementary right here in Georgia, teachers have gone door-to-door to reach out to Hispanic immigrant families. When parents don't come to the school, teachers bring school to the parents. Gainesville teachers have even held parent conferences in laundromats! As a result, around 90 percent of all the school's students passed state exams in reading and math. That's especially impressive when you consider that most of the school's students are the sons and daughters of immigrants who speak little English.

When you reach out to families, you begin to realize that Americans don't see education as just another issue. They see it as a value. There's a difference. A value is a belief we hold close to our hearts, and education is the key to the American dream. It's what we all want for our children.

And we must make sure that our schools prepare our children for the lives ahead of them. We still have room for improvement. 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. The first round of No Child Left Behind reforms focused on younger students. Now we must extend the benefits of high standards and accountability to our high schools.

I want to thank Lea Soupata and Allen Hill from UPS for being here. They're both senior members of the UPS corporate team. Businesses like UPS have taken a leading role in calling for high school reform. That's because they understand what's at stake. About 80 percent of the fastest-growing jobs require at least some postsecondary education. Yet far too many students are leaving high school unprepared for college. A recent study from the ACT found that less than half of high school students graduate ready for college-level math and science.

Meanwhile, competition around the world is only becoming stiffer. Just think: In 1970, America produced more than 50 percent of the world's science and engineering doctorates. But if current trends continue, by 2010, we will produce only around 15 percent!

We must change these numbers by raising the bar. A poll released this week shows that two-thirds of Americans support expanding annual assessment to three grades in high school. That's just what the president has proposed doing. We've seen what happens when we challenge our students. Test scores here in the Southeast and around the country have never been higher. And now we must bring that same can-do attitude to our high schools.

I want all parents to have the chance to feel the pride of seeing their child start college like I did last week. There's no better feeling in the world—even if you do have to strain your back and shed a few tears.

Thanks again for inviting me here today. And now I'd be happy to take your questions.

Thank you.

####