More Resources  President's Remarks on  Education Accountability

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — President Bush today joined U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, parents, teachers, students and local leaders at Vandenberg Elementary School to highlight the next important step in education reform — translating legislative action into results in the classroom. The president and the secretary are stressing the need for increased accountability, improved teacher quality, more parental involvement and a focus on reading in our nation's public schools.

"Because President Bush kept his promise, it's a new day in education for America," Secretary Paige said. "Our nation has been called to commit itself to the bold goal of creating a system that insists on accountability and results, teacher quality and reading programs that work. It will be a system in which taxpayers know what they're getting for their money — and parents know if their children are learning."

Secretary Paige also highlighted the progress the Education Department is making on implementing the new law, including his work with policymakers and key education leaders nationwide to help ensure swift and successful implementation of the new reforms.

He noted that all the states and territories that had some compliance catching up to do are in compliance or committed to a time certain to do so; applications for Reading First grants are coming in from states eager to help their students learn this critical skill; and the Reading Leadership Academies are teaching teachers research-based methods that are proven to work in their classrooms.

During the visit today, the president focused on:

Strengthening Accountability — Under the No Child Left Behind Act, states will be responsible for setting strong academic standards for what every child should know and learn in reading, math and science at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Beginning in the 2002-03 school year, schools will have to measure student progress and better target resources by administering tests in all schools in each of three grade spans — grades 3-5, grades 6-9 and grades 10-12. Beginning in the 2005-06 school year, tests must be administered every year in grades 3-8 in math and reading. Beginning in the 2007-08 school year, science achievement must also be tested. The president's FY 2003 budget requests $387 million to help states develop and implement accountability systems.

Improving Teacher Quality — The No Child Left Behind Act requires that there must be a highly qualified teacher in every classroom by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Using the new provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act in conjunction with President Bush's budget request, the federal government will invest more than $4 billion in 2002 alone to improve teacher quality and strengthen teacher recruitment throughout America.

Increasing Parental Involvement — Because of the No Child Left Behind Act, every parent in America will have access to information on how well their child's school is performing. Parents can use this information to get more involved to strengthen their child's school. Too, the No Child Left Behind Act gives low-income parents with children in persistently failing schools the ability to transfer their child to a better public school or use federal Title I dollars for supplemental services to improve their child's education.

Strengthening Reading Programs — The No Child Left Behind Act fully implements the president's Reading First initiative. The new Reading First State Grant program will make six-year grants to states, which will make competitive subgrants to local communities. Local recipients will administer screening and diagnostic assessments to determine which students in grades K-3 are at risk of reading failure and provide professional development for K-3 teachers in the essential components of reading instruction. The new Early Reading First program will make competitive six-year awards to districts to support early language, literacy and pre-reading development of preschool-age children, particularly those from low-income families. The president's FY 2003 budget requests $1 billion for Reading First and $75 million for Early Reading First.

The tour will continue on Wednesday, May 8, with President Bush and Secretary Paige making two stops in Wisconsin.

Today's event marks the fifth stop on the No Child Left Behind Tour Across America, which Secretary Paige kicked off on April 8, 2002.

On April 8, Paige joined nearly 2,000 students, parents and others in Albuquerque, N.M., to kick off the tour. He then met with nearly 1,000 Georgians to enlist their support to strengthen our schools and leave no child behind.

Also in April, Secretary Paige joined Washington Redskins all-Pro Darrell Green and Dorothy Height of the National Council of Negro Women to rally the Education team at the Department of Education's headquarters in Washington, D.C. The secretary also met with hundreds of parents, educators and community and civic leaders in Las Vegas to discuss how this powerful new law will improve education for all children, especially poor and minority children. Other stops will be announced later.

President Bush signed the cornerstone of his education agenda — the No Child Left Behind Act — into law on Jan. 8. As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act, states and school districts will develop strong accountability systems to ensure that every child in America is receiving a quality education. States and school districts will receive additional flexibility and reduced federal red tape through the ability to transfer and consolidate funds to encourage innovation. To achieve the goal of higher student performance, the new law requires a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. Additionally, parents will have access to more information about how well their local school is performing and new options to have more control over their children's education. Every school in America will also have new tools to ensure that children can learn to read.

As part of this public awareness effort, the Department of Education has prepared specific information available through a Web site — www.NoChildLeftBehind.gov — and guidebooks to help parents, teachers, principals, local and state officials and community leaders understand what the law means to them.

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