    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 31 (Monday, August 6, 2001)]
    [Pages 1125-1128]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks to the National Urban League Conference

    August 1, 2001

        Thank you all very much. Well, Hugh, thank you very much. I'm
    honored to be introduced by such a good man, and an important leader for
    our country.
        I want to thank the leadership of the National Urban League for
    inviting me. For those of you who don't live here, I welcome you to the
    Nation's Capital. You've come here to hold America to its founding
    promises of justice and opportunity. There are many items on that
    agenda, from economic empowerment, election reform to criminal justice
    reform. Right before we came in the hall I had the opportunity to visit
    with this organization's fine leadership, and my pledge to them and my
    pledge to you is, I'll work together with you to do what's right for
    America.
        Here in Washington we are reaching a moment of decision on one
    issue, an issue that is urgent in every urban neighborhood, the issue of
    education. So this morning, among the Nation's most influential urban
    leaders, I want to speak about the essential choices facing our Congress
    and our country when it comes to the reform of our public schools.
        Again, I thank my friend Hugh Price for the invitation. I thank him
    for his diligence. I thank him for his leadership. I want to thank Ken
    Lewis, as well. I appreciate so very much Leland Brendsel. I want to
    thank Ken Blackwell, the secretary of state of Ohio, and Joe Rogers, the
    Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, who are here. I appreciate so very much
    the Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, serving our Nation.
        You know, when it came to picking the Secretary of Education, I
    didn't--wasn't interested in picking a theorist or a philosopher; I was
    interested in picking a doer. And this man has successfully run the
    Houston Independent School District. He raised the standards, challenged
    the status quo when there's failure. That's what he and I are both going
    to do now that we're in Washington, DC.
        I also appreciate so very much Larry Thompson, the Deputy Attorney
    General, for joining us, as well. Thank you, Larry. Where are you,
    Larry? Somewhere out there.
        The men and women of the Urban League know how important our schools
    are, how much good they can do in the life of a child, and how much is
    lost when they fail. You've seen both. The mission of the National Urban
    League is to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power, and civil
    rights.
        And successful schools have always been central to that mission. An
    equal society begins with in equally excellent schools. But we know our
    schools today are not equal. The failure of many urban schools is a
    great and continuing scandal. Rarely in American history have we faced a
    problem so serious and destructive on which change has come so slowly.
        The most basic educational skill is reading. The most basic
    obligation of any school is to teach reading. Yet, earlier this year, we
    found that almost two-thirds of African-American children in the fourth
    grade cannot read at basic grade level. For white children, that figure
    is 27 percent. The gap is wide and troubling, and it's not getting any
    better. That gap leads to personal tragedy and social injustice. In
    America literacy is liberation, and we must set all our children free.
        The ability to read is what turns a child into a student. First we
    learn to read, and then we read to learn. When this skill is not taught,
    a child has not failed the system; the

    [[Page 1126]]

    system has failed the child. And that child is often put on a path of
    frustration and broken confidence.
        For too long, many schools have been content to blame their failure
    on parents, on poverty, on circumstances beyond their control. Year
    after year, children without schools are passed along in schools without
    standards. Some see this social promotion as an act of compassion. It
    is, in fact, a form of discrimination, the soft bigotry of low
    expectations. That bigotry has young casualties, and that bigotry must
    end.
        Listen to the experience of one young girl from New York. She said,
    ``In the fifth grade I missed maybe 90 days of school, and they passed
    me with no problem. In the sixth grade I missed maybe 100 days, and they
    passed me with no problem. I don't even remember taking the exam,'' she
    said. ``They just kept passing me along. I ended up dropping out in the
    seventh grade. I basically felt that no one cared.''
        That young woman learned one lesson in school: No one cared. At
    least no one who could help. Millions of children carry that same lesson
    throughout their lives, and we owe them better. We owe all our children
    the pride and promise of learning. We must return the spirit of ambition
    and achievement to all our public schools.
        The Urban League is reaching toward that goal by highlighting
    student achievement, by focusing on early literacy, by encouraging every
    child to read and rise. And our Government must have those same
    priorities.
        Education is a local responsibility; yet, improving our public
    schools is a national goal. And all of us must do our part.
        For nearly 40 years, our Federal Government has tried to improve
    education with money alone. We invested $158 billion in title I
    programs, with great intentions and no measurable result. We've been
    pumping gas into a flooded engine. Just as faith without works is dead,
    money without reform is fruitless.
        Yet, today, after decades of frustration, we're on the verge of
    dramatic reform. Schools must have the resources they need, and I
    support more spending. Local folks must be in charge of local schools,
    because they're closest to the children and their challenges. But most
    of all, we need true accountability, the center piece of reform.
    Consequences for school officials must be determined by proven results
    for children. Those in authority must show responsibility. The purpose
    of education, after all, is not jobs for adults; it's learning for
    students.
        Accountability is an exercise in hope. When we raise academic
    standards, children raise their academic sights. When children are
    regularly tested, teachers know where and how to improve. When scores
    are known to parents, parents are empowered to push for change. When
    accountability for our schools is real, the results for our children are
    real.
        I know this because I've seen it. In Texas, when we first introduced
    accountability measures, only 56 percent of African-Americans fourth
    graders could pass our State reading test. Today, 83 percent of those
    students pass the tests. African-American eighth graders in Texas are
    writing better than their peers in any other State.
        Our Texas State tests require and measure progress amongst every
    minority group. And the great news is, we've gotten progress amongst
    every group in Texas. We saw, supposedly, hopeless schools make major
    progress. We saw students who had been written off find the self-esteem
    of real accomplishment.
        We saw how determined reform can confound the cynics and the
    skeptics. Accountability can work in all of America. And our Federal
    Government must take the side of meaningful reform. Our Government must
    speak for disadvantaged children who are often overlooked and
    underestimated.
        I'm an activist for high standards. I'm an activist for
    accountability. My administration has set a great goal. We will lift the
    load of low expectations so that all children will rise. The United
    States Congress now shares this goal. Our plan passed both the House and
    the Senate with big bipartisan majorities. Our national debate has come
    a long way. But in the short distance we have left, there are some vital
    decisions to be made.
        Our landmark education reform is now in what they call a conference
    committee. We're coming down to the wire. We've got

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    to finish strong and make sure the accountability measures are right.
        So today I'm urging the Congress to act quickly and to act wisely on
    three major issues. First, we must begin where the need is greatest and
    focus on the lowest performing schools. The bar for adequate school
    performance must be rigorous, achievable, targeted to all groups, and
    raised gradually.
        No one should ask that all our goals be met overnight. These goals
    must be met over time. If, after 3 years, nothing changes for students
    in a failing school, their parents must be given other options, like a
    transfer to a better public school or private tutoring.
        Now, it's well known I would have preferred those options to include
    funds to attend a private school. Many in Congress, unfortunately,
    disagreed. Yet, we all agree that schools which persistently fail must
    be radically restructured.
        Some of my allies in reform want to require dramatically improved
    performance--immediately, everywhere. I appreciate aiming high, but
    setting impossible expectations means setting no expectations. The
    undoable never gets done. If we identify all schools as failures, we
    won't be able to focus on the greatest needs. If goals are unrealistic,
    teachers will become discouraged instead of challenged, harassed instead
    of inspired. By confronting the worst problems, we direct our energies
    and send a message of reform heard throughout the entire system.
        Second, States must choose their own tests. But within a State,
    those tests must be comparable from place to place and year to year.
    Right now, a State and its districts can use different tests, and that's
    okay by me. But there has to be a way to compare the results of those
    tests to one another. If State accountability systems count easy tests
    from some districts and hard tests from others without a method to
    compare them, parents won't really know who's making progress and who's
    falling behind. Unless there's a fair and consistent measurement among
    schools, there can be no accountability.
        Thirdly, we must have independent evidence that State tests are
    rigorous and State tests are real. Fortunately, we already have a proven
    way to get the independent evidence we need, the National Assessment of
    Educational Progress or the NAEP. NAEP is not new. Over 40 States now
    participate. It's not a national test, and we certainly don't need one.
    But we do need a national report card, and NAEP serves that purpose. We
    need an objective check on State accountability systems, so we need the
    NAEP for every State.
        You know, not long ago, accountability was controversial. Today, the
    concept is widely shared. But to make a difference in the lives of
    children, it must be more than a concept. Accountability must be tough,
    yet realistic and workable. The Congress has some work to do before we
    reach that goal, and the time is running short.
        We're now in August. In 35 days, school starts in New York City; 34
    days, schools open in Oakland, California. In Kansas City, Missouri,
    children report for class in 26 days. Principals and teachers need to
    make their plans for changes that will come immediately and for changes
    that will come next year.
        We're asking a lot of our schools and our teachers and our students.
    They have a big job ahead of them, and so do we, here in Washington. And
    now is the time, Congress, to get the job done.
        Two years ago, when I spoke to the Urban League Conference in
    Houston, my reforms for America's schools were just a set of proposals.
    And now, these proposals are within weeks of becoming reality. I'm
    thanking the Urban League for your support, and I ask you to continue to
    work with Congress to make sure they become the law of the land. I ask
    you to join me in building a system of education worthy of all America's
    children, so that every child has a chance in life, and not one single
    child, in the greatest land on the face of this Earth, is left behind.
        Thank you all for having me, and may God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:20 a.m. at the Washington Convention
    Center. In his remarks, he referred to Hugh B. Price, president and
    chief executive officer, Kenneth D. Lewis, vice chairman of the board of
    trustees, and Leland C. Brendsel, trustee, National Urban League. The
    President also referred to title I of the Improving America's Schools
    Act of 1994 (Public Law No.

    [[Page 1128]]

    103-382), which amended title I of the Elementary and Secondary
    Education Act of 1965 (Public Law No. 89-10).