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U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings released the following statement commemorating the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act:

"The fourth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law by President Bush on January 8, 2002, is a time to boldly look ahead, confident that we can solve any educational challenge we face. Four years ago our nation said it would no longer accept a public school system that educated only a portion of its children. Americans said schools should be held accountable for results and students should learn through proven methods. Parents were given more choices, states more flexibility and schools 40 percent more resources.

"The results are beginning to come in. They show a revival in mathematics achievement in the early grades, coupled with more reading progress in the past five years among nine-year-olds than in the previous three decades. Remarkable academic gains have been made by African American and Hispanic students, helping to close an achievement gap critics once called intractable and inevitable.

"Congress and the states deserve great thanks, as do the teachers, administrators and parents who have made this law work. Now we must bring the same determination and optimism to our newest challenge. Global competition has changed the rules of the game. A quality education, once desirable, is now essential. High school graduates must have the skills to compete in college, the workforce and the world. So high schools must be held accountable for results, and students must be offered more rigorous coursework, with a strong emphasis on math and science. No Child Left Behind has taught us that change and reform are possible, and President Bush is once again leading the charge to make it happen."

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