U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige addressed the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce today in New Brunswick, N.J., about closing the education achievement gap and creating paths to draw more successful minority employment applications. The following are Secretary Paige's prepared remarks.

Thank you. I am pleased to be here. I appreciate the good work of the Chamber, your Business Coalition for Educational Excellence, and your Education Foundation. The Chamber's solid, visionary efforts to enhance educational quality and inclusiveness are a powerful contribution to educational excellence in New Jersey.

As you know, America's economic power is determined by many factors. But the most important is education. The quality of our educational system is directly responsible for our economic success.

A thriving national and international economic policy is dependent on sound national educational policy. Together, educators and American business can have a powerful, positive on economic improvement through higher educational achievement.

We have entered a new age: the 21st Century is now a service economy dependent on technology, innovation, information, and technical skills. We need "knowledge workers." And knowledge workers must be well educated. Marginally educated or under-educated workers are not in high demand.

The Washington Post recently reported on the story of one businessman who has a dozen job openings at his surveying company. But he cannot find workers with enough basic math to learn the software. He noted that there are plenty of people who "can fog a mirror" or "do grunt work." But he needs educated workers with strong basic skills.

And you would appreciate his comment on the bottom line: "We need people with some knowledge of trigonometry and geometry. It's really just arithmetic. We're turning down work because we don't have the people."

You see this story throughout New Jersey. The demand on all levels is for knowledge workers. The need for literate skills in reading and mathematics is a pre-requisite for almost every job. In the past, employers had jobs for both brawn and brains. Now, almost every job is highly dependent on intelligence, communication ability, and computer skill-level.

Not surprisingly, you also see this reflected in the so-called "earnings gap." Recent Labor Department figures show that college-educated workers earn a median weekly salary of about $1,000. High school grads earn about $600 a week. Those without a diploma earn about $400 a week, or less than half of college grads and only two-thirds of high school graduates.

And make no mistake; this wage gap is about education and only education. As Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan testified last July, the growing earnings gap reflects "skill premium" commanded by relatively better-educated workers, not an underlying problem with the economy.

Sure, the United States is economically powerful now. We must retain that position of strength and stability. One recent commentator called our economy "the job creating machine." Well, we are creating jobs at a rapid rate. In this country, new job growth has been phenomenal in the last few months, with strong growth in all segments of the economy, including manufacturing jobs. We can remain competitive in the foreseeable future. Our workers can be the most sought-after, highly recruited, most desired in almost any industry. But this will only happen if our workers are highly qualified, educationally prepared, and well-trained.

For example, one estimate is that by 2014, the American workforce will have openings for 9 million more college degree holders than there will be new degrees awarded. This includes 3 million openings for 2-year degree holders, 4 million for 4-year degree holders, and 2 million for advanced degree holders.

Unfortunately, all of our students are not ready for this new environment. We have a lot of work to do now and in the next several years. Four years ago, millions of students were mired in mediocrity, denied a quality education. The vast majority of those left behind were African American, Hispanic, special needs, English-learners, or low income. For various reasons, they were passed on and passed out.

How bad was it? Well, many students did not read at their grade level; some were years behind; some could not read at all. There were similar problems in mathematics. For example, by the time they reached 12th grade, only one in six blacks and one in five Hispanics could read at grade level. Math scores were even worse: only 3 percent of blacks and 4 percent of Hispanics were testing at the proficient level.

This achievement gap could not be corrected by simply spending more money. We already spend more on education per pupil on K-12 than any other country except Switzerland. Between 1965 and 2000, the federal government had spent more than $100 billion on education (Title I), with no visible difference. Our students remained about average when compared to European or Asian students. The educational divide in this country only became wider. The money was just thrown at the problem, not invested in the future.

The educational system itself needed to be reformed—transformed!

That is why the No Child Left Behind Act is so important. It is a more accountable, responsible approach to education. Like a successful business, No Child Left Behind introduces measurement of progress, makes the system transparent and accountable, and introduces consumer choice. These ingredients ultimately make the system better and provide a better product.

This law has been the salvation of our schools. We already see considerable evidence that the law is working. In the most recent results on the Nation's Report Card, or NAEP, the mathematics scores for fourth- and eighth-graders rose significantly across the board. Importantly, African American, Hispanic American, and low-income students accounted for some of the most significant improvements. As a result, the achievement gap is closing. Further evidence comes from a recent report by the Council of the Great City Schools, which reviewed test scores from 61 urban school districts in 37 states. Students in the largest urban public school systems showed significant improvement in reading and math in the first year under No Child Left Behind.

And in the last few weeks my department has received data from a number of states indicating remarkable, rapid improvements. A nationwide pattern of improvement is now evident.

You see it right here in New Jersey. More than 90 percent of New Jersey's teachers are now "highly qualified." And for the first time, a majority of Newark fourth-graders were found to be proficient in both language arts and math. Scores are up on every test, and are strongest in elementary schools.

This is a law that is preserving our country's economic and political leadership throughout the world. Perhaps more than any other law, this one is our best hope for the future of America.

No Child Left Behind law required the states to set their own standards for teacher quality, for testing, for measurements of adequate yearly progress, and for many other areas of educational accountability. The actual standards were determined by the states themselves because they were in the best position to do so. In other words, the people of New Jersey set the standards for New Jersey's children.

These changes allow for a real investment in education, whereas before we were just throwing money at the problem. The President has set federal support for education at $57 billion for Fiscal Year 2005, a 36 percent increase since he took office. This means that federal education funding for New Jersey will be $2.1 billion in 2005, a 36 percent increase since 2001. This includes $65.4 million to help New Jersey attract and retain highly qualified teachers. It also includes $9.9 million for annual assessments so every mom and dad in New Jersey will know how well their children are learning.

This law is well funded. Congress calibrated the money necessary to implement the law and provided it. Several studies demonstrate that the funding is there to get the job done. This summer, the Governmental Accountability Office released a study that shows the law is not an "unfunded mandate." This is their second study to reach this conclusion. Massachusetts State School Board Chairman James Peyser and economist Robert Costrell said in a recent study that the money is there. A study out of New Hampshire said the same thing, as did a study by "Accountability Works." Please note that these are all independent experts who do not lobby for increased federal funds.

I think the reason for some confusion is that the law exposed some weaknesses or deficiencies that needed correction. It was easy to blame the federal government, but some of these problems may have been hidden or unknown until the early stages of implementation of No Child Left Behind. Many of them pre-date No Child Left Behind. And let's remember that the federal government only provides about 9 percent of funding for public schools; state and local governments constitutionally provide the rest. The funding we provide covers the direct costs of No Child Left Behind.

And we must build on the foundation of this law. That is why President Bush is supporting new initiatives to enhance reading, increase job training, increase funding for community colleges, stabilize the long-term fiscal viability of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and encourage more knowledge and experienced people to turn to teaching. The passage of No Child Left Behind was a milestone, a landmark. Yet, in many ways, it is just the beginning.

So, if we want to improve education, and make our workforce more diverse, American business must be involved. The best investment in business is an investment in education. Many corporations realize this. A recent study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Boston College asked corporations the following question: "What is top social issue for which your business contributes?" The number one answer was "K-12 education," made by one out of every two respondents. These same corporations were asked: "Which social issue will have the greatest impact on their business in the future?" The response made by one out of three businesses: "The performance of public education."

We need your continued involvement and support. We need your continued investment, support and interaction as well as your close ties to local schools. I hope each of your subdivisions and offices have adopted a school. If not, that's a good place to start.

I also ask that you increase the number of in-kind contributions, especially computer equipment and video-conferencing devices. We also need your employees to mentor and help teach children in adopted schools. We need your business to help sponsor concerts, plays, trips, art exhibits and other activities that feed the mind and souls of each student.

If we can improve the educational system, we can improve the corporate bottom line. And, I also ask you to help because the bottom line isn't the only line. This is about the future of our children. Each one of us wants the very best for them. And a quality education gives them a good start in life.

You know what this means for each student we save...more attention, more ability, more books read, more confidence, more opportunity, more personal growth, more intellectual development, and more competitiveness with students in this country and abroad. Here is what we see...lives that would have been wasted are now on track...students who would have been shoved into the shadows will now have a bright future...those destined for economic oblivion will have the ability to secure a stable and rewarding economic future...those who would have been unemployment or under-employed will now higher wages and a brighter future as a part of the workforce.

That is the difference we will make. Together, with vision, determination, and courage, we will give every child a quality education—every single one of them—opening up a world of possibilities, promise, and empowerment.

Thank you.

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