Washington, D.C. — In response to the Center for Education Policy's release of Moving Beyond Identification: Assisting Schools in Improvement, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said the following:

The Center for Education Policy's report adds to overwhelming evidence that Reading First is working. These encouraging findings show that the vast majority of school districts find Reading First effective in lifting achievement at struggling schools.

Reading First is the most effective and successful reading initiative in the nation's history, and I have seen the positive results firsthand in classrooms throughout our country. Literacy is the foundation of learning, and we know that student improvements in fluency and comprehension help them succeed in other subjects as well.

Reading First is one of many meaningful No Child Left Behind reforms that are helping close the achievement gap and boost student performance. Now we must work together to reauthorize the law and restore funding this year. We can't afford to take tools like Reading First away from the students who need them most.

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