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Saying "community colleges offer opportunity for people of all ages," U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today praised the key role these schools play in meeting the needs of local communities and urged better preparation of high school graduates during remarks at the Community College National Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C.

"We believe that the single best thing we can do for you is to provide students ready to learn from day one. You should not have to be a 13th grade—teaching basic math and reading skills that our K-12 system should have taught," Secretary Spellings said, citing studies that found a staggering two-thirds of high school graduates are unprepared for college while 40 percent of students entering four-year universities and 63 percent of students at two-year institutions required some remedial education.

Community colleges "end up dealing with the consequences," she said.

Secretary Spellings noted that President Bush's budget proposal significantly increases aid for students to attend higher education institutions. For example, the president has proposed an increase of $19 billion over 10 years for the Pell Grant program, enabling more than 5.5 million students to receive a grant in 2006. The proposed budget also would increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $100 per year over the next five years, from the current $4,050 to $4,550; retire the Pell program's $4.3 billion funding shortfall; make Pell grants available year-round to help more students; increase student loan limits for qualified students; and adopt a variable interest rate for all student loans, with more flexible extended repayment plans, thus enabling students to benefit from continued historic low interest rates.

President Bush's proposed budget also includes $125 million for a new Community College Access Grants Fund to support dual-enrollment credit transfers for high school students who take college-level courses, which would encourage students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to enter college. Secretary Spellings also noted the importance of job training and that the budget includes $250 million for Community-Based Job Training Grants and funds to help community colleges deal with capacity issues.

The president is also seeking to better prepare high school students for higher education and the workforce. Under the president's High School Initiative, students would be measured annually in at least two more high school grades in reading and math. The budget proposes an additional $175 million and $120 million to help students who are struggling with reading and math, respectively, and a total of $52 million to expand Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs in schools with large numbers of disadvantaged students.

"Our philosophy is that high schools should steer their students in the right direction. We also need to encourage a clear-eyed view of what it takes to succeed in college. This is especially important for students from families without a long college tradition."

Secretary Spellings also noted the need to provide consumers with useful information and encouraged community colleges to be more systematic in the way they collect and share data, and noted the need to work with states and other institutions to create more streamlined credit transfer policies within states and across state lines.

"Current and potential students deserve to base their decisions on information, not anecdotes," Secretary Spellings said.

The complete text of the Secretary's remarks is posted at: http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2005/02/02162005.html

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