Thank you, Dr. Allen, for that introduction and for the invitation to speak here today. I've known you for a long time, and it's always a pleasure to see you.

I would like to thank Brenda Welburn for her leadership of this important organization.

I would also like to thank your past President, Betty Preston, for her hard work and leadership.

I appreciate the invitation to join you today because it gives me the opportunity to bring you up to date on where we are since the President signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 into law.

This time last year, our nation embarked on an historic journey--a journey that embraced the President's hopeful vision that says: Education is a civil right. Just as much a civil right as the right to vote or to be treated equally. And it's the duty of our nation to teach every child well, not just some of them.

• Accountability,
• Local control,
• Options for parents,
• And research-based instruction that works.

President Bush has said he wants every public school in America to be a place of high expectations and a place of high achievement. And I know you want that as well.

You may be familiar with the management guru, Jim Collins, who came out with a book called Good to Great that looks at what makes ordinary companies extraordinarily successful. He says there are several ways to get there, and one is to face the "brutal facts." The great companies confronted the realities of their situation in the marketplace, and they changed their entire system of operating in response.

I believe our schools must do the same.

If we face the brutal facts, then it's clear, by all the measures of student achievement, we have a big problem.

• Two out of three fourth-graders cannot read proficiently.
• 83 percent of 12th-graders are not proficient in math.
• 82 percent of 12th-graders are not proficient in science.

Never before has this nation made such a commitment to educate every child, regardless of race, family income or zip code.

Yet in the year since No Child Left Behind first became the law of the land, we have seen great progress. States have moved forward on all fronts--working to:

• Improve student achievement,
• Empower parents with information,
• Provide options for children who aren't learning, and,
• Tap new sources for talented teachers for our nation's classrooms.

In January, we celebrated a major victory for accountability when every state--for the first time in the history of the American public school system--submitted plans outlining how they will ensure that all their schools are places of high expectations and high standards. Five states have completed the peer review process and the rest are underway.

This is what true reform looks like. Things are getting done.

The American people think we're on the right track. A recent poll shows:

• 91 percent want high standards and accountability,
• 91 percent want annual report cards to parents on school performance,
• 91 percent want a highly qualified teacher in the classroom,
• And across the board demographically, the majority of Americans--66 percent--believe that high standards and accountability are more important to improving our schools than increased funding.

President Bush's 2004 education budget will ensure that we stay on track.

Despite all the priorities competing for our tax dollars--strengthening our economy, defending our nation, and expanding opportunities for all Americans--the President's budget boosts education funding to $53.1 billion--historic levels for our nation's children.

• It provides $390 million to help states develop and implement annual reading and math assessments in grades 3 through 8.

• It provides an estimated $756 million to empower parents with education options for their children.

• It provides $300 million over three years to boost the number of mentors for children at risk.

• It increases funding to more than $1.1 billion for the President's Reading First and Early Reading First programs.

• It provides $185 million to expand research efforts to other subjects such as math, as well as children just learning English.

• It provides more than $4.5 billion for training, recruitment, incentives, loan forgiveness, and tax relief for teachers

• And the President is proposing a state option which will help states more efficiently and effectively coordinate services provided by Head Start, public school pre-kindergarten and other early childhood programs. The focus is on how best to prepare children to succeed, regardless of the organization involved.

In December, a report by the GAO proved Albert Einstein's theory that insanity is the belief that you can get different results by doing the same thing over and over.

The GAO--a non-partisan investigative arm of Congress--studied inner-city and suburban schools and found--and I quote: "Higher-performing schools were not necessarily schools that were high in per-pupil spending."

In other words: More money does not guarantee higher achievement. President Bush understands that, and he targeted the education funding to where the need is greatest.

And he made sure that states have unprecedented levels of flexibility to move the money where you need it most.

I know that you're facing tight budgets, but the President has generously and adequately funded education. States have seen a 41 percent increase in Title I funding since the President took office.

In fact, I believe this is a real opportunity to rethink our programming and focus on what is working. This is an opportunity to zero-base and focus on the programs that are truly effective.

• Despite reports to the contrary--a recent study by The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy found that the increased federal funding for New Hampshire--$13.7 million--is more than enough to cover the costs of testing, attracting highly qualified teachers, new technology plans, special education--and have another $6 million left over to fund other state and local priorities.

• Caroline Hoxby--a leading economist and Harvard professor has also found that, contrary to what some believe, the cost of assessments averages only $5.81 of the more than $8,100 spent on average per pupil. Even the most expensive version costs only $34.02.

• As director of the Economics of Education Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research--she found that the "costs" for assessments were "so tiny that even the most generous accounting could not make them appear large, relative to other education programs."

• She continued: "The most expensive [assessment] programs in the United States generally cost less than one-quarter of one percent of per pupil spending."

This is a good education budget. Not only does it provide historic levels of funding--it also reflects an historic, bipartisan commitment to not just spend more, but to spend more wisely.

I've been in your shoes. I ran the seventh largest school district in the country. I've served on a school board. I've been a teacher and a dean. I know what it's like to implement change--so I know all the things that are going through your heads right now.

But what the President and Congress are asking of us can be done. I've seen it.

And unlike when I was trying to boost achievement in Houston, Texas, you have a powerful new tool--the reforms of No Child Left Behind and historic levels of funding to get the job done.

We will spotlight successes when we find them. And where we don't find success, we will insist on change.

This is our moment as educators. The whole country is watching. And there's no doubt in my mind that in this choice between good schools and great schools, you will choose to be great.

And I want you to know that the President and I consider it an absolute honor to stand in your corner.

Thank you.

Top