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Good morning. Welcome to our nation's capital. I know many of you made a long trip, so I thank you for coming.

Every year our education system must improve. Our economic and global leadership depend on having the finest educational system possible. And we have provided a quality education to many of our students. Many of our high schools are the finest in the world, with outstanding teachers, visionary administrators, and quality resources. Some schools are amazing success stories and make for great news copy.

But, we also have much reason to be concerned about our educational system. It is not as good as it could be for millions of students. There are many schools that let students leave without teaching them much. Too many of our students leave school without the skills to compete in a global economy.

The number of children who leave our educational system unprepared is staggering. By the time they reach twelfth grade, only one in six African Americans and one in five Hispanics can read proficiently. Math scores are even worse: only 3 percent of African American and 4 percent of Hispanic students are testing at the proficient level.

To put it bluntly, our high school system is not serving some kids well. We are facing an unrecognized educational crisis in this country. Our wide and sometimes growing achievement gap confirms that we live with a two-tiered educational system.

For the lucky few, their education is the best in the world; virtually ensuring those students have wonderful opportunities for further education, economic security, professional rewards, and personal freedom.

For others, there is an under-performing system. Students come to school, but do not become educated. The vast majority of students left behind are disadvantaged or low-income.

We can document this disparity. Last month, there were many "good news" stories about the national jump in the latest SAT scores.

The headlines read: "Student scores on the SAT rise to all-time high." Yes, this is some welcome news, but if we delve a little deeper, another story unfolds -- one that didn't make headlines or copy.

Even as the headlines herald the rise in SAT scores, closer observation reveals that the scores for African American SAT test-takers didn't go up. In fact, they remained flat. And Hispanic students' scores actually went down over previous years.

And we are facing the difficult fact that many students never stay in school long enough to even come close to taking the SAT's. The percentage of young adults who are out of school and lack any high school credential declined during the 1970s and 1980s, but has remained at about 11 percent since 1992.

And the on-time graduation rates at our inner city high schools are shockingly low. At about half of the high schools in our 35 largest cities, less than half of ninth-graders graduate four years later.

We can no longer close our eyes and ignore the children who are being left behind.

Students today face a world of jobs that require higher levels of reading, communications, math, and problem solving than ever before.

Our nation has prospered and is strong. But the world is not static. The world is moving forward and becoming even more complex and intertwined.

Time is speeding on, and forcing us into a race with destiny, into an impending revolution fueled by rapid change, global competitiveness, and yet undefined international relationships.

Recently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released a disturbing report. The findings show American students are being rapidly overtaken by students in many other countries. American students read, write, and do math at rates lower than students in Asia and Europe. Today, our high school graduation rates fall short of the OECD average.

This is a shocking report, especially because it also documents that we spend more per student than most of the other OECD countries. Yet, we receive modest results.

Civilizations rise and fall depending upon the quality of education. H.G. Wells understood this when he said, "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe." We must stop running in place.

Unless improvements are made, American students will not be competitive with students in other countries, dooming future generations to less opportunity, greater levels of poverty, and further disparities in health status.

Our children and grandchildren's world will be even more complex, inter-related, and global. Can anyone earnestly say that our current education system is preparing them for this world?

In the future, I fear only the well educated will have the necessary skills, insight, and imagination to succeed.

Those who are unprepared will sit on the sidelines, confronting poverty, dead-end jobs, and hopelessness. They will find little choice and much despair. The well educated will live in a world of their own choosing; the poorly educated will wander in the shadows.

There is a silver lining in this cloud. We are already taking steps to fix this problem and we have much to be proud of. But, we must do more.

With this Summit as the kickoff, I am pleased to announce a new leadership initiative for improving high schools called "Preparing America's Future." Today begins a national dialogue on the state of our high schools, and what we need to do to improve them.

The first step was bringing you together - the leaders in reforming our nation's high schools. We will work closely with parents, teachers, principals, education policymakers, elected leaders, and foundations to create this nation's next generation of high schools.

We will focus on four key themes:

• Setting high expectations and accountability for results
• Creating options and engaging students
• Fostering world quality teaching and school leadership; and
• Making smooth transition into postsecondary education, training, and careers.

Creating new high schools for a new century will require hard-thinking, mature integrated strategies, and a sustained commitment that extends beyond the tenure of superintendents and elected officials.

Our high schools need much more than just tinkering around the edges. Many need overall reform. And I would offer a word of caution here about the sort of reform that is needed.

The need for structural reforms like block scheduling has often been overemphasized. Too often, structural reforms minimize or overlook the need for improving the quality of instruction. We must pay attention to factors like time on task, opportunities to practice, providing quality feedback, and using meaningful assessments of student achievement.

For the leaders assembled today, I want to encourage you in your work today to develop a bold new vision for shaping the way high schools operate. This Department is committed to providing you the best information and support.

To that end, we are offering a series of regional summits - like today's - for states that want to participate in further discussion.

We will continue to distribute information about best practices and policies through the Internet or printed materials. You will find some of these new materials here today.

We will continue to invest in researching how students learn to read and do math, and on what makes great high schools great. And we will make this research part of the existing "What Works Clearinghouse" and other Department resources.

We know that the foundation for academic success begins early in life, which helps explain the focus of the No Child Left Behind law. However, we also know that much of the gains made early in school are lost in high school.

We know that far too few students are taking rigorous courses. And we know that many high schools do not offer enough academically challenging courses. Also, too few students are encouraged to take these classes. And it is often the case that graduation requirements are not aligned with the requirements for admission in colleges and universities.

That's why, a little over a year ago, President Bush announced the State Scholars Initiative. He said, "We've got to aim higher. We need to challenge every student."

Modeled after the successful program in Texas, these State Scholars programs bring together 8th graders with leaders in the business community. These business leaders mentor students and encourage them to take the tough classes that will prepare them for success after high school.

The focus of this effort is not on the already high-achieving students. Rather, the focus is on raising the aspirations of the students who are in danger of slipping though the cracks.

Last year the State Scholars Initiative was piloted in six states: Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Indiana, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Today, I am pleased to announce that we are awarding the Center for State Scholars an additional $2.4 million to double participation in the Initiative.

Six additional states are being invited to join after competing in a highly selective process: Kentucky, Connecticut, Washington, New Mexico, Mississippi, and New Jersey. I congratulate these states on their commitment to improving the quality of education for all students.

We are committed to assisting states in their efforts.

The world is evolving rapidly. Our high schools must keep up with those changes so that we prepare students to compete in a new and complex world.

At the high school level, nothing exemplifies this need better than programs like Advanced Placement. And in recent years, our nation has made great progress in making sure our low-income students have access to these kinds of classes and assessments. In just the past four years, the number of AP tests taken by low-income students has risen 64%.

We should take great pride in that progress. But access is not enough. Now we need to make sure that more of our students are prepared to succeed in these rigorous courses.

That's why today I'm pleased to announce more than $11 million in 22 new grants through our Advanced Placement Incentives program. This program - part of the No Child Left Behind Act - funds promising initiatives in grades six through twelve that increase the pipeline of low-income students who are ready to succeed in advanced courses like AP.

These grants are going to national non-profit organizations, states, school districts and charter schools, and we expect to learn a great deal from them in coming years.

Soon, the President will announce the details of his proposal for the Secondary and Technical Education Excellence Act. Working closely with Congress and with education and business leaders, we can modernize the Perkins Act vocational education programs to support new Career Technical Education programs.

These new approaches will help students make a successful transition to education, high-skilled training, and successful careers after high school.

Students will have a jump start on their future because of new linkages between high schools and education beyond high school, including colleges, universities, community colleges and career schools.

We expect the high schools of the future to graduate qualified candidates who will be ready to flood the doors of higher education. And now if the desire is there, so are the resources - regardless of family circumstances.

Last week, we unveiled a powerful new Web tool for those who want to continue their education beyond high school. It's called 'Student Aid on the Web'. Student Aid on the Web is going to be a tremendous resource for millions of people, especially high school students.

Student Aid on the Web does everything from assess a student's career interests to help a student apply for financial aid. This information is easy to find at www.studentaid.ed.gov.

I encourage you to spend time at the demonstration table today, to see the site and pick up more materials.

Of course, we recognize the challenges we face. We won't shrink from those challenges.

But we have much to celebrate. Many high schools throughout America are tremendous success stories.

At today's Summit and on our website, we have assembled and highlighted examples of this success. This morning, you'll hear from people who are making good things happen for high school students.

This afternoon, you'll learn more about promising strategies in helping high school students succeed in higher levels of reading and writing, math and science.

You'll also hear about examples of modern career technical education programs and new and promising models of high schools that engage students with good teaching, high expectations, and customized programs.

High schools of all sizes and shapes need improvement. No one should be complacent. School leaders must set challenging expectations for all students, and engage them with learning. Today, we welcome the chance to join with you to transform America's high schools.

Thank you.

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