Thank you for joining us here in St. Louis to talk about one of the most important, yet under-appreciated components of making our schools work for all students. Often when we think of education and technology, we think of training our children for the technology-related jobs of the future. Today, however, the Internet and information technology also promise vast improvements in the way we educate our children.

Some say that technology is too important to leave in the hands of technologists alone. I agree. Technology first and foremost must be understood and employed by leaders. Leaders must bear ultimate responsibility for evaluating and using technology. The most effective leaders recognize that technology is a means to an end.

This conference is the first in a series of three that will focus on how technology can help all schools meet the goals of No Child Left Behind. Our goal for this conference is to provide you the knowledge, tools and contacts needed to help you become leaders in making technology an every-day part of educating our young people.

Today, we will focus specifically on how technology can enhance accountability and assessment. This conference will help you explore opportunities to collaborate with other states on development and procurement. It will help you to consider the power of online assessments and to explore the resources that are available to support the accountability requirements of No Child Left Behind. And it will help you learn how to manage data so that you can meet the goals of No Child Left Behind.

The fact is No Child Left Behind requires us to think about education in new ways. In January, we celebrated its second anniversary. In this short time, No Child Left Behind ushered in a new era of accountability in our nation's schools. It created the framework for giving every child a quality education. And it said loudly and clearly that all children must be held to high standards.

No Child Left Behind is built on four pillars: the use of proven teaching methods, more choice for parents, accountability for results, and increased local control of federal education funding. By following these four principles, we are taking meaningful actions to close the achievement gap. And we are doing so by raising expectations for all of our students. Let me be clear: No Child Left Behind focuses our attention on those students most in danger of being left behind. But at the same time, No Child Left Behind benefits all students.

Let me cite a few reasons why I am so optimistic that we are on the right path:

• All 50 states now have accountability plans in place to show how they will help all children learn to read and do math at their grade levels. This is a huge improvement from just a few years ago, when only 11 states were in compliance with the law.

• Our children are now being tested regularly in math and reading. As a result, teachers can use this new information to tailor instruction to meet every child's needs. Administrators can make better-informed decisions about targeting resources. And parents can better evaluate their child's progress and the effectiveness of their schools.

• Parents have new rights under No Child Left Behind. If their child attends a school that is in need of improvement, then they have new options. They can choose a better-performing public school. Or, if they are financially eligible, they can choose extra tutoring for their child at no additional cost.

• Under No Child Left Behind, every child in America will soon be taught by a teacher with proven mastery of his or her subject.

• We are providing the resources to get the job done. President Bush and Congress have provided more funding than ever before. Under the President's latest budget, total education spending would increase by 36 percent since he took office, including massive increases for disadvantaged students, teacher training, special education and financial aid for higher education.

These changes are improving schools for the better. They are making our schools more responsive to all children. Technology will and must play a role in driving this transformation. One of the areas in which it can have the greatest impact is in testing.

Testing is central to improving our children's education. It allows us to measure where we are doing well and where we must do better. By disaggregating the data, our schools can ensure that every child of every race, ethnicity and income bracket is receiving the same quality education. And when some children are falling behind, our schools can identify them early and provide an appropriate intervention to help them get back on track.

How we test matters as well. Paper-based tests, while effective in measuring progress and strengths and weaknesses, also have limitations. With paper-based testing, results sometimes come in slowly and can go unused if not received in a timely manner. Paper-based tests can be time consuming and expensive to administer. Certainly, they provide important measurements of student progress. But we can do better.

Optimally, tests should be used to inform instruction. The best feedback is real-time feedback. Online tests can provide fast, real-time data that is usable and informative and that can guide instruction. With online tests, teachers and parents can have the results in their hands within 24 hours. They can then use those results to change lesson plans, identify areas for additional work and tailor a more appropriate learning strategy. The power of online assessments is one of the most promising examples of technology's ability to accelerate the transformation called for by No Child Left Behind.

Testing, of course, is just the first step. The next step is managing the resulting data so that it can be used to improve instruction. States must be prepared to manage large amounts of data that must be collected and analyzed under No Child Left Behind. In doing so, states must be able to make the data accessible and relevant, and package it in a form that will be useful to teachers, administrators, policy-makers and parents.

For many states, this need to manage data will require major changes. At present, the states vary widely in their capability to manage test data that is coming in. It is crucial for every state to identify how it will collect, store, organize, sort and report data.

You, as education leaders, must drive this process. You must ensure that your education agencies have the systems and people needed to effectively analyze and distribute data. Our education systems must become more focused on using data to create a performance-based culture.

Let me give you just one example of how better information management can benefit everyone involved in education.

Take, for instance, two third-grade math teachers in the same school. Both teach children from a similar demographic group. Both classes achieve above average test scores, but one class has slightly higher scores. Using information technology, an administrator could isolate the source of the difference in test scores. She might notice, for example, that one teacher's students are doing considerably better on fractions than the other's. Once that variable has been identified, the teacher getting higher results can help train the second teacher to bring up his children's scores as well.

There are literally countless ways that information management can be used: to identify trends in student achievement, to identify teacher strengths and weaknesses, to provide an up-to-the-moment report for parents on their child's progress, to better target resources. The possibilities are indeed impressive.

And while information management represents a significant capital expenditure, it can reduce costs in out years by eliminating transportation costs, security costs and paper costs and by increasing efficiency.

As you look at your technology needs, the Department wants to be a full partner with you to make technology a substantial component of educational improvements. This conference represents the first stage of what we hope will be an ongoing dialogue about the role of technology in education.

As we go forward, you will find that there are new resources available to you. I would like to mention a few funding sources that, while not available for infrastructure, can be used to enhance your use of technology in instruction.

No Child Left Behind's "Enhancing Education Through Technology" program has distributed more than $2 billion to states and local school districts over the last three years. This funding must be used for education technology to improve student achievement. And at least a quarter of the total must be used for training and professional development. President Bush has requested nearly $700 million more for this program in his 2005 budget.

The new flexibility in the law makes every program in No Child Left Behind an opportunity for technology funding since technology can be used to help accomplish specific program goals. The Department is also investing more than $54 million in 28 projects to measure the impact of technology on student achievement.

I urge you to work with the Department to use every inch of flexibility there is in the law and to take advantage of technology-related grants and information that are available.

Finally, I would like to mention one other initiative. Under No Child Left Behind, the Department is required to create a national long-range education technology plan. We are in the process of developing that plan now. To ensure that it represents the best thinking from both experts and those on the front lines, we have created a Web site where anyone can provide their thoughts on how best to bring technology into our education system. I encourage you to lend your expertise and experience. If you have a few free moments—and I understand those free moments are somewhat rare—please go to www.nationaledtechplan.org and participate in the plan before it closes this Friday.

I would like to conclude today with a thought from the best-selling author and management expert Jim Collins. In his book Good to Great, he explores methods by which organizations can improve their operation and achieve greatness. In it, he writes: "Technology and technology-driven change has virtually nothing to do with igniting a transformation from good to great. Technology can accelerate a transformation, but technology cannot cause a transformation." In other words, using technology is like stepping on the accelerator. It will help us reach our destination with greater speed, but only if we know where we are going.

Collins' characterization is true for No Child Left Behind. Technology did not ignite the revolution. That was done by the leadership of President Bush, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and concerned people all over the nation. No Child Left Behind gives us the mission and the means to achieve it. But, technology—when employed by visionary leaders—will help us fulfill the law's great promise.

I would like to thank everyone in attendance for taking the time to join us for this important conference. I encourage you to make the most of the resources available here, ask many questions and work on your state's technology plan. And most important, I thank you for embracing the bold vision of No Child Left Behind. With your continued hard work, we will provide a quality education for all.

Thank you, and God bless you.

####

Top