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Washington, DC — U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today marked the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act with a speech and question and answer session with national education and business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"Anniversaries also remind us that every day, we have to recommit ourselves to the things that are important to us. And when it comes to education policy, this is a critical moment." Spellings said, "With No Child Left Behind, we set the goal to have every student reading and doing math on grade level by 2014. And it's working!"

Significant achievement has been made since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Spellings referenced examples of the gains made by our nation's fourth graders in reading and math according to the 2005 Nation's Report Card. The same assessment showed that the achievement gap is narrowing in the fourth grade.

The address also reminded the audience of the administration's efforts over the past five years, why the law was so needed then, and why she and the President are pushing for renewal this year.

"When President Bush first came to Washington back in 2001, the nation was ready for reform," Spellings said. "The President made No Child Left Behind his first priority, from his first day and his first week in office. And so did members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. Later today, we'll be back in the Oval Office with the President and Congressional leaders to talk about building on the progress we've already made. Renewing NCLB is one of the President's top priorities and I'm confident that Chairman Kennedy, Senator Enzi, Chairman Miller, and Representative McKeon will continue to be strong supporters.

"To help schools in need of improvement, No Child Left Behind provides resources—including free tutoring for struggling students. And President Bush and the Congress have increased federal K-12 spending by 41 percent over the last five years.

"The truth is, No Child Left Behind helps kids by measuring their progress and holding schools accountable for helping them improve." Spellings continued, "It helps teachers by providing them with information to better manage their classrooms, and resources to improve and enrich their teaching. And it helps businesses by helping students gain the skills they need to succeed."

Spellings closed sharing with the audience that reauthorization will happen this year through a collective endeavor and through continued pressure by those in the business community and educational leaders.

"I'm counting on you, and the country is counting on you," Spellings said. "We've made real progress... and we have a lot of important work ahead. Together, we'll succeed."

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