Thank you, Governor Ehrlich, for that kind introduction and for welcoming me to Maryland this morning. It's not often I can thank one person for both supporting No Child Left Behind as a governor and voting for it as a member of Congress. We appreciate your support both times around. And you've chosen the perfect man to lead your Commission on Quality Education in Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele.

The lieutenant governor is touring 30 schools across Maryland in an effort to see what it's like to be a student today. From what I've read, he has fit in pretty well so far, aside from his short stint as a drummer in a school band. At least, the conductor gave you high marks for being bold! In seriousness, that boldness is why we all look to your leadership.

I also want to thank Robert Kemmery for serving as the executive director of the commission. It's also great to see Maryland Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick today. Maryland's schools are lucky to have you at the helm. And thank you, Senator Brock, for being here today and for taking such a keen interest in education.

And of course, I want to thank all of you for serving on this commission. It's an important cause. The governor has asked you to find the best ways to close the achievement gap and improve student performance in Maryland.

We outlined these same goals when we passed No Child Left Behind three years ago. So let me assure you the impact of your work will extend far beyond the shores of the Chesapeake. The entire nation will be watching because Maryland has led the way in answering the call of No Child Left Behind.

In Maryland last year, over 70 percent of third-graders scored proficient or better on reading tests, compared to under 60 percent in 2003. And in just one year, the percentage of African-American third-graders proficient in reading increased by 16 points. This success is a tribute to Maryland's commitment to assessing every student every year. And I want to thank you for being among the first states to submit your assessment system to the Department for review. Now we hope you will continue to lead as we work to extend this law's principles of accountability and higher expectations into our high schools.

When the president signed No Child Left Behind in January of 2002, he sent a message that every child has a right to a quality education. The law says all children can achieve high standards in school. And it says we should measure student progress each year to make sure that they do.

In the past, the performance of subgroups, like minority, low-income, and special-needs students, would often get buried beneath misleading averages. It became all too common to overlook these students and their academic struggles. No Child Left Behind forced us to confront this pernicious achievement gap and to do something about it.

Now, I like to remind my colleagues in Washington that the hard work of closing the achievement gap and providing every child with a quality education still belongs to state and local governments—just as the Founding Fathers wanted when they designed the Constitution. They left all powers not delegated to the federal government to the states and to the people. One of those powers was the responsibility for providing public education.

No Child Left Behind preserves this balance of power. It encourages you to seek innovative solutions because we know the best new ideas come from states like yours or my home state of Texas, and not from Washington. At the federal level, our job is to simply provide the broad strategic goals and record levels of funding to help you get the job done. We want to be as flexible as the law permits.

At the same time, there are some bright lines. When the law says states must annually assess every student's progress in reading and math, it means just that. And when the law says states must break down and analyze assessment data by subgroups, it means just that too—every child counts. These points are clear. Without assessment, there will be no way of measuring the effectiveness of our reforms. Without measurement, there can be no accountability for results. And without accountability, children will continue to fall behind.

I like to say, "What gets measured gets done." When we test all students, we make sure all students achieve higher standards. Already, we can see the strategy is working. Across the country, test scores are rising, and the achievement gap is closing.

We still have much work to do. The first round of No Child Left Behind reforms focused on grades 3-8. As a result, most of the recent gains in test scores have come among our younger students. Now we need to focus on high schools. We face serious challenges.

Just 68 out of every 100 ninth-graders graduate from high school on time. And the vast majority of these students are unprepared for higher education. One recent study showed that two-thirds of students leave high school without the skills to succeed in college. As a result, out of those 100 original ninth-grade students, only 27 are still enrolled in college in their sophomore year.

Dakarai Aarons is a student who defied these disturbing numbers. He graduated from high school in Prince George's County and is now a senior at the University of Nebraska. But he explains, "Quite a few people I knew dropped out because high school seemed pointless to them."

We need to change this perception, and we need to do it quickly, especially when you consider that 80 percent of the fastest-growing jobs will require some postsecondary education.

Each year American companies, universities, and of course, taxpayers must spend billions of dollars on remedial education—just to teach employees and students the basic skills they should have mastered in high school. It's a vicious cycle that has to end.

We want to make sure a high school diploma represents a ticket to success in the 21st century. That's why the president has proposed a new $1.5 billion High School Initiative. This initiative will allow high schools to develop timely intervention programs to help save students at risk of falling behind and will help to ensure every student graduates with the skills to succeed in college or the 21st-century workforce.

Now, we know that no two students are the same, and no two states are alike. So we're not telling you how to spend this money. We're giving you the flexibility to invest these funds as you see best fit—whether that be on vocational education, dropout prevention, or college preparation. In the past, the federal government funded all these programs separately with little information on what programs were actually working. It was an inefficient use of taxpayer dollars.

We realized it would make far more sense if we consolidated all these programs together into our High School Initiative and let you decide which programs work for Maryland's students. It's more cost effective to push budget decisions down to the state and local level. The president and I trust your judgment.

We just want to make sure this federal investment produces results. And the only way to know is to expand annual testing. Back in Texas, we like to joke, "In God we trust—all others bring data."

The High School Initiative includes $250 million for states to measure student progress in reading and math at least three times during the course of high school. We can't save students from falling behind unless we first know where they need help.

Of course, assessment data by itself won't raise student performance. You need effective teachers who can analyze this data and respond to students' strengths and weaknesses. That's why No Child Left Behind says every classroom must have a highly qualified teacher by next school year.

Unfortunately, the low-income urban schools that could most benefit from quality teachers often have the hardest time holding on to them. In any other business, the most qualified applicants end up in the most demanding positions. We need to do the same in education. To give the best teachers an incentive to work in low-income communities, the president has proposed a $500 million Teacher Incentive Fund. This fund will also encourage states and districts to develop performance-based compensation systems, so we can reward teachers who achieve outstanding results in the classroom.

And we're committed to providing teachers with the training to produce these results. Our Reading First program has helped train over 91,000 teachers to use scientifically proven methods for helping younger students become better readers. Maryland schools have already received over $30 million dollars as part of this program.

Now we need to bring this same scientific approach to high school instruction. For example, we know that teenagers who have trouble reading have a far higher chance of dropping out of high school. Fortunately, there's a science to teaching older students to read just the same way there's a science to teaching younger kids to read. There's a lot of good research being done on this subject, and now we just have to make sure this information makes it to the classroom where it can help kids. That's why the president has proposed increasing funding for our Striving Readers program to $200 million. This investment will provide teachers with proven methods for helping teenagers learn to read.

The president has proposed a similar program to improve the quality of secondary school math instruction. Almost two-thirds of employers give high school graduates fair to poor marks in math. And recent studies have shown that our students lag behind their peers across the world in problem solving. In response, the president has proposed a $120 million Secondary Education Mathematics Initiative. We'll use these funds to train teachers to use methods that are proven to work.

Once we help our students master these fundamental skills, we need to focus on preparing them for the demands of higher education. The good news is that we have done a good job marketing the dream of college. The National Center for Education Statistics released a report last week showing that 72 percent of sophomores in 2002 planned to get at least a bachelor's degree. Sadly, a far smaller percentage of students will ever attain this level of education. We need to close this gap between our students' expectations and reality. Every student needs to leave high school ready for college-level course work.

Right now, only around 20 percent of students in Maryland demonstrate college-level mastery of an Advanced Placement course in high school. On the bright side, that percentage is among the highest in the country. On the down side, it's still far lower than the percentage of students who hope to go to college. The president's budget includes a 73 percent increase for AP and International Baccalaureate programs. This investment will help schools expand advanced course work offerings particularly for low-income students.

We know nothing prepares a student for college like a rigorous high school curriculum. That's why we're so happy that Maryland is participating in the State Scholars program. This public-private partnership encourages students to complete a demanding course load of core academic subjects. It's an example of how local businesses and educators can work together to help students. When it comes to education, we all share the same goals.

And to achieve these goals, we have to be willing to try new approaches. For example, public charter schools give parents and students more options and at the same time, serve as laboratories for innovation. The president's budget provides over $200 million for charter school grants to states, including Maryland. These schools are pioneering new approaches that eventually will improve education for all students. In the coming years, we hope to see the creation of many new, high-quality charter schools in Maryland.

The president and I know that change is never easy, but over the last three years, No Child Left Behind has proven it is possible when we work together. And now we want your help to make this same commitment to improving our high schools. We owe it to our students to act now.

Maryland has been at the forefront of the effort to leave no child behind, and your hard work on this commission will ensure that trend continues for years to come. Together, we can provide every student with a quality education and the skills to succeed in life. Thank you for inviting me today.

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