[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 48 (Monday, December 1, 1997)]
[Pages 1887-1888]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

November 22, 1997

    Good morning. Today I'd like to speak to you about a breakthrough 
for education, our agreement to move forward with national tests to make 
sure every schoolchild masters the basics. The best way to give our 
children the world-class education they need to thrive in the 21st 
century is by setting high standards of academic achievement. When we 
fail to encourage our children and expect a lot of them, we in fact 
encourage them to fail. That's why I've called upon America to join me 
in raising educational standards and adopting national exams to measure 
our progress at meeting the standards.

[[Page 1888]]

    We've now taken a significant step forward in this effort. Last week 
I signed an education bill that supports the high national standards and 
the development of the first-ever voluntary tests of fourth graders in 
reading and eighth graders in math. And as I had recommended to 
Congress, we put control of the tests in the hands of the independent, 
bipartisan National Assessment Governing Board, often called NAGB. 
Congress created NAGB a decade ago; it includes Governors and 
legislators of both parties, business leaders, parents, and teachers.
    I'm pleased to be joined in the White House by the NAGB board 
members, who have just convened for the first time since taking on their 
new responsibilities, and they've just presented me with their plan for 
developing the national tests, including a pilot test next fall. Several 
new members have been appointed to help, including Diane Ravitch, an 
Assistant Secretary of Education under President Bush; Lynn Marmer, the 
president of the Cincinnati school board; and Jo Ann Pottorff, a member 
of the Kansas Legislature. I'm grateful they've agreed to take on this 
important role.
    I'm confident the board will ensure that the new tests measure what 
they should, the basics--nothing more, nothing less. These tests will be 
national, not Federal. And as Diane Ravitch has said, they'll be a 
yardstick, not a harness. They're a vital measuring tool to help 
parents, teachers, and school officials demand accountability and 
excellence.
    This is a landmark step toward putting high standards in the 
classroom and keeping politics out. It builds on what is clearly the 
best year for American education in more than a generation.
    This year, we have made great progress on our pledge to ensure that 
every 8-year-old can read, every 12-year-old can log on to the Internet, 
every 18-year-old can go on to college. In the bill I signed last week, 
we helped to build a citizen army of reading tutors, nearly doubling our 
investment in--nearly doubled our investment in education technology; we 
expanded public school choice and competition; and we provided the 
largest increase in Pell grant scholarships in two decades.
    As we raise standards for our children, we're also providing them 
with the tools they need to meet the challenge and seize the 
opportunities of the 21st century. Working together, we're lifting our 
children's sights, raising their hopes, and honoring our obligation to 
improve education today so that they can meet the challenges of 
tomorrow.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:30 p.m. on November 21 in the 
Roosevelt Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on 
November 22.