More Resources Secretary's Remarks Photos

INDIANAPOLIS — U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today promoted the value of using research data as the foundation for guiding decisions on school reform, declaring, "Data is our best management tool."

Speaking to a summit of educators and policymakers in Indianapolis, Spellings credited the No Child Left Behind Act for spurring states and school districts to make better, more informed decisions on achieving educational excellence.

"President Bush believes, as do you and I, that students in any school - large or small, urban, rural or suburban -- have every right to dream big," Spellings said. "We believe that every single child can learn in class and succeed in life - that their destiny does not depend on geography or skin color. Instead, it depends on the three Ds: desire, discipline and determination.

"Let me add a fourth D," she said. "Data."

Thanks to No Child Left Behind, Spellings said, "we are no longer flying blind." She said this is the time of the year when schools release their Adequate Yearly Progress data. It's information, she said, which helps states target finite resources to the classrooms where the need is greatest and most urgent.

"Information is the key to holding schools accountable for improved performance every year among every student group," Spellings said. "Data is our best management tool. I often say that what gets measured, gets done. If we know the contours of the problem, and who is affected, we can put forward a solution. Teachers can adjust lesson plans. Administrators can evaluate curricula. Data can inform decision-making."

Secretary Spellings also used her remarks as an opportunity to push for greater focus on high school improvement. She cited several statistics as evidence of the need for reform, including:

• Nearly a third of entering ninth-graders do not receive their diploma on schedule.

• Two-thirds of high school graduates are not prepared for college, according to the Manhattan Institute.

• About 80 percent of the fastest-growing jobs will require some postsecondary education.

"We cannot go on having three-fourths of the best jobs reserved for only a third of our graduates," Spellings said.

To illustrate the need for change, the secretary pointed out that the high school model of today is not much different from that of our grandparents' day. "As Bill Gates has said, 'Training the workforce of tomorrow with today's high schools is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe.'"

Spellings called on Congress and the public to support several proposals currently under consideration at the Capitol.

Under the President's $1.5 billion High School Initiative, student progress would be measured in all grades, and states and educators would get to set priorities to improve achievement in reading and math.

According to the Alliance for Excellent Education, Spellings said that students who read significantly below grade level are 20 times more likely to drop out of school than their higher achieving peers. She said educators must make sure that incoming students are given intensive intervention, adding that President Bush's Striving Readers program and new Secondary Education Mathematics Initiative "would do exactly that."

In addition, she said high schools should challenge their students academically.

"The data tells us that rigorous coursework is a great predictor of later success," Spellings said. "Indiana is part of the State Scholars partnership, which seeks a college-ready curricula in every high school. This includes four credits in English, three-and-a-half in social studies, three each in math and science, and two in a foreign language."

Spellings said that only three in ten students nationwide complete the recommended minimum coursework for college entrance.

The secretary also said President Bush has proposed new funding to encourage states to join the State Scholars program, and for Enhanced Pell Grants of up to $1,000 for low-income high school students taking these classes. In addition, the president has also called for a 73 percent increase for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. The funds would be used to train teachers and defray costs such as exam fees for low-income students.

For the full text of the Secretary's remarks, go to: http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2005/06/06142005.html<

###

Top

Back to June 2005