    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [April 22, 2008]
    [Page 562]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the No Child Left Behind Act
    April 22, 2008

        Today Education Secretary Margaret Spellings took an important step towards strengthening and
    improving the No Child Left Behind Act. In the 6 years since its
    enactment, this law has delivered real results for students across the
    country. Students are achieving record math and reading scores, and
    African American and Hispanic students are making significant progress,
    posting alltime high scores in a number of categories.
        No Child Left Behind was a bipartisan achievement. Unfortunately, at
    this time, Congress hasn't made noteworthy progress toward strengthening
    the law. In January, I indicated that the Secretary should move forward on reforms she can undertake
    administratively if Congress fails to act.
        Secretary Spellings's announced
    package of regulations and pilot programs will address the dropout
    crisis in America, strengthen accountability, improve our lowest
    performing schools, and ensure that more students get access to high-
    quality tutoring. Her actions build on a series of administrative steps
    we've taken to provide additional flexibility to strengthen and improve
    the law to ensure continued progress toward the goal of every child
    reading and doing math at grade level by 2014.