Thank you, Robin [Washington], for that kind introduction, and thank you, Tom Waseleski, for organizing this convention. It's an honor to be here. I can tell this is a smart group because you've elected a Texan—J.R. Labbe—as your president.

When I get to work, I like to start the day by reading news clips from papers all over the country. So chances are I've read your writing, especially if you've written about education recently. And for accountability sake, it's good to finally put some names and faces to those unsigned editorials I read every morning.

Over the last year, I've seen more and more editorials focusing on global competitiveness. And many of them have been right on the mark. There's a growing consensus between policymakers and pundits that we must raise standards in our schools to ensure our students have the skills to compete in a world where what you know means far more than where you live.

But next to those editorials about global competitiveness, I still see articles saying No Child Left Behind sets the bar too high... and letters to the editor saying it's impossible to have every child reading and doing math at grade level.

There's a real disconnect there that I want to talk about today because keeping America competitive depends on leaving no child behind.

We can't prepare students for the global economy if we don't get them to grade level first. We're talking about grade level. That's the bare minimum our kids need to know to get by in today's world. Ninety percent of the fastest-growing jobs require postsecondary education. And we can't help more students realize the dream of college if we don't teach them how to read and do math.

When I hear people say things like some children just can't learn, I say, "Whose child are they talking about?" Not mine, I hope, because as a mom, I don't think it's too much to ask that my child leave the third grade reading and doing math at the third grade level. And I'm pretty sure almost all parents feel that same way—regardless of where they live or how much money they make.

That's why for the first time ever, we're holding ourselves accountable for making sure all students learn. Last year, all 50 states assessed every child in grades 3-8 in both reading and math and broke down the results into student groups. Thanks to this data, we have more information than ever before on what's working in our schools and what needs to work better. And we can see that No Child Left Behind is making a difference.

According to our nation's education report card, our 9-year-olds have made more progress in reading in five years than in the previous 28 years combined. And over the last two years, the number of fourth graders who know their fundamental math skills increased by 235,000 students—enough to fill 500 elementary schools!

But we still have a lot of work to do. And if we're going to meet our goal of ensuring all children can read and do math at grade level by 2014, we have to run faster and work harder. As we say back in Texas, "If all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got." And all we ever got just isn't good enough anymore.

We must start using time better and personnel more effectively. But that doesn't mean schools have to "narrow the curriculum" or cancel the annual spelling bee. It just means we must invest our resources more wisely in research proven strategies for helping students learn, and we must do a better job making sure we have the best teachers in our neediest classrooms. We must rise to these challenges because as you all know, the stakes for our children have never been higher.

This will be an important year for us. No Child Left Behind is up for reauthorization in 2007. We're working to expand the law into our high schools where we've made almost no progress in 30 years. And on September 26, I'll be giving a major speech at the National Press Club about my commission on the future of higher education's report. I'll be announcing my action plan for making higher education more affordable, more accessible, and more consumer-friendly.

I'm looking forward to sitting down with John [Taylor] to discuss all these issues in a nice one-on-one chat—just like being on Oprah. And then I look forward to answering all your questions.

Thanks again for having me here today.

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