Thank you, President Boyd. I am delighted and honored to be here. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is a dynamic powerhouse. Individually and collectively you have provided constant, visionary, and service-oriented leadership for our country.

W.E.B. DuBois called African American women "the pillars" of black culture. One of those pillars is a friend from my Jackson State days, Mrs. Paulette McNair. It is good to see you again.

Also I want to recognize the wife of my good friend and colleague at the Department of Education, Wilbert Bryant, who coordinates our work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Wil has an invaluable counselor, and his wife, Emily Bryant is here. Emily, could you please stand?

I know President Boyd has a deep sense of history, as do many of you. One hundred and ten years ago, there was a gathering similar to this, the World Congress of Representative Women. More than 150,000 women gathered in Chicago to discuss civil rights and women’s suffrage.

One of those present was Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, the first African American woman to address the convention.

She gave a profound, memorable speech, speaking about the political future of women. She said that this is an age of discovery, much like the geographic discovery by Columbus of the New World. Ours is an age in which the world will discover the power of women, and women will discover themselves.

A new world could be crafted in America if women were full partners in the nation’s work.

If women could become empowered, then, in Harper’s words, "[H]umanity would breathe freer and the world grow brighter."

I know you agree. But there are still barriers, obstacles to overcome. Frances Harper identified the primary obstacle as "a mass of illiteracy." She reminded her audience, "[K]nowledge is power, [but] ignorance is also power." She urged a strident campaign of universal education to channel the positive and healing power of education to overcome the negative, destructive power of ignorance.

Amen. You and I understand the power, the importance, the liberation of education. It is the road to emancipation. It is freedom itself.

And I know you agree with her: women are powerful agents for change. My mother, who was a teacher, used to sternly tell me that there was no more powerful force on earth than African American women. She said that if you wanted to see physics in action, just turn African American women loose on a problem. And then don’t get in the way! If they want change, it will happen.

And she said that the first battleground for African American women had to be the schools.

Our schools need your attention, your talents, and your wisdom. We need your creative, powerful help as parents, teachers, mentors, community leaders, and taxpayers. When I came to Washington four years ago, there was division in our schools, a resegregation. For some students, our schools were islands of excellence. For others, they were desert islands. Millions of our children had been ignored, disrespected, undereducated, prejudged, cast into the shadows, and moved to the back of the room. They had become invisible and then passed on and passed out of the system.

We know these students: African American, Hispanic, special needs, English-learning, and low income.

Why? The system itself was broken. Despite the best efforts of teachers, parents, and so many other people, millions of students were not learning.

I want to stress this--the problem persisted despite the heroic, valiant, selfless commitment of our teachers and parents. I have met with thousands of teachers over the last four years. They understand what I’m talking about. They realized that change was needed. They saw the problems; experienced the same frustration. They knew the barriers to education that were placed in their way.

We needed to change the system itself, and that meant overhauling our approach, incentives, and expectations, while finding the ways and means to maintain and promote quality teaching. We had to foster a climate of excellence, a culture of excellence, enabling all students to reach the highest levels of scholarship.

How bad was it? Many students were not reading at their grade level; some were years behind; some weren’t able to read at all. We’re talking about a difference of 30 percentage points on tests measuring achievement. We’re talking about some students who are several grades behind in skill level. Some simply had no skills at all. None.

The evidence was clear. For example, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores showed that by the time they reach twelfth grade, only one in six African Americans and one in five Hispanics were proficient in reading. NAEP math scores were even worse: only 3 percent of African Americans and 4 percent of Hispanics were proficient.

Late last year, we released a report that further supports those findings. Its title was Status and Trends in the Education of Blacks, prepared by the Department’s National Center for Education Statistics. The report looked at two decades of research. Performance gaps between African Americans and whites ages 13-17 actually widened between 1988 and 1999.

In my view, education is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. Education is the best way to eradicate racism. Education is the best way to get our children off the streets, to help them maintain good health, to stop them from committing crimes, to keep them out of jail, to assist them in finding a good job, to prevent poverty, to help them achieve economic security, and to advance their personal growth. It is the most important governmental service. It is the key to a good economy and a prosperous future that is shared by all Americans. That’s what I mean--education can erase racism, provide opportunity, and generate more social justice. It’s the founding tenet of the civil rights movement.

Now, we have the means to address this problem. It is called the No Child Left Behind Act. It gives us a vision, the tools, and the means to close the achievement gap. Every organization in this nation that is devoted to minority advancement and civil rights should be embracing No Child Left Behind.

I think anyone who takes the time to understand this law and to see past the partisan rhetoric will recognize that it is the best thing to happen to the African American community in a long time. It finishes the work that was started 50 years ago with Brown v. Board of Education.

No Child Left Behind requires accountability, testing, and inclusivity. It empowers parents with more information and more choices. It enables students in need to obtain tutoring and mentors. It is already improving quality and performance. It is our best hope for giving every child, every single one, a quality education.

The law asks states to set standards. These benchmark goals have been put in place by each of the 50 states. Each state knows best what the goals most appropriate for its school districts.

The law requires testing to see if those standards have been met. If we can identify children who are left behind early on, we can shift resources to help them. We can prevent a later life of trouble and lost opportunity. But we have to be able to know who needs help. Testing does that, especially testing on basic skills. We need to catch at-risk children early and the only way to do that is through testing.

Now I know that there are some who think we must teach to the test. But teaching to a test on a basic-skills level makes sure everyone has those skills. We simply can no longer assume that students will pick up necessary skills along the way. We must be sure. That is the only fair and equitable answer.

We must make sure parents are involved and stay involved. That is why the law provides more information to parents and empowers them with choices.

The law also identifies schools that need more resources, and targets their needs.

The law gives more resources to teachers and gives them more information about how to become more effective educators.

And the law is funded to get the job done. President Bush has set federal education funding at $57 billion for fiscal year 2005. This is a 36 percent increase since he assumed office. Several studies, including two by the General Accounting Office, indicate the money is there to fully implement the law.

There has been much confusion about funding. The law is funded, and funded adequately. There are some who keep saying, over and over again, that this is not so. But they are misleading and misinforming Americans, hoping to damage public support for the law. The truth is simple and straightforward: the law targets resources to those who need it the most. It ensures equal educational opportunity. It works against what the president has aptly termed "the soft bigotry of low expectations." It is adequately funded.

We know that No Child Left Behind is starting to generate some amazing results, transforming the educational landscape. 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 two weeks ago, in its report, the nonpartisan Education Commission of the States found that most states are well on their way to meeting most of the requirements under the law. I was very pleased to see that almost every state is now publicly reporting achievement data for all students. We still have a long way to go. But this report is a milestone in documenting the revolutionary changes underway and in showing that the law is achievable.

We also must look beyond K-12 instruction to higher education. President Bush’s 2005 budget request includes $419 million--an $18.8 million increase--to assist higher education institutions with a large proportion of minority and disadvantaged students, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Historically Black Graduate Institutions. The president has signed an executive order to help expand federal support for HBCUs. President Bush has also been working with HBCU presidents and a national advisory board to help identify ways for federal departments and agencies to best assist HBCUs. The advisory board has met with the president. It was a very informative and productive meeting. The chairman, Dr. Louis Sullivan, has met with 17 departments and agencies, all of which will be providing funding or other support for HBCUs.

Student financial assistance has also increased in President Bush’s 2005 budget. Overall, student financial aid would expand to more than $73 billion, excluding the consolidation of student loans. This is an increase of more than $4 billion or 6 percent over the 2004 level.

The number of recipients of grants, loans, and Federal Work-Study assistance would grow by 426,000, to 10 million students and parents.

The budget also includes more than $832 million for the Federal TRIO Programs and more than $298 million for GEAR UP to provide educational outreach and support services to help almost 2 million disadvantaged students enter and complete college.

Together, we must do all of this and more. Education is the key to creating a new world for women, for empowering all Americans.

When Frances Harper concluded her speech, she said that women wanted nothing more than "justice, simple justice." Make no mistake. Educational reform is about justice, about rights, about freedom, and, ultimately, about our humanity.

I ask you to imagine a future where all students receive a quality education. It is the best, most powerful way to address racism, poverty, poor health, and joblessness. Our country could be more unified, respectful, tolerant, and economically secure because we had the vision, the courage, and the commitment to give each child the gift of education.

Thank you.

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