U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today made the following statement regarding the release of two reports: The Nation's Report Card: 12th-Grade Reading and Mathematics 2005 and The Nation's Report Card: America's High School Graduates:

The two reports released today show that we have our work cut out for us in providing every child in this nation with a quality education. If, in fact, our high school students are taking more challenging courses and earning higher grades, we should be seeing greater gains in test scores.

The No Child Left Behind Act is working to improve our nation's elementary and middle schools, and we must act now to increase rigor in our high schools and improve graduation rates. President Bush recognizes that reform is critical. In urging Congress to reauthorize No Child Left Behind this year, he proposed increasing academic rigor and accountability in our high schools. Schools must prepare students to succeed in college and the 21st century workforce.

The consensus for strengthening our high schools has never been stronger. It is unacceptable that only half of our African American and Hispanic students graduate from high school on time when nearly 90 percent of our nation's fastest-growing jobs require post-secondary education or training. The President's new proposals include: a $1.2 billion increase in Title I funds for high schools; an additional $1 billion over five years for Academic Competitiveness Grants for low-income students who take on a rigorous high school course load; and $365 million for the American Competitiveness Initiative to strengthen math and science instruction.

Copies of The Nation's Report Card: 12th-Grade Reading and Mathematics 2005 and The Nation's Report Card: America's High School Graduates, and additional data from the 2005 12th-grade assessments, are available online at http://nationsreportcard.gov.

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