REMARKS FOR

**U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION ROD PAIGE**

**AT THE NATIONAL EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY PLAN RELEASE**

**"TECHNOLOGY & NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND:**

**TRANSFORMING EDUCATION"**

**WASHINGTON, DC**

**FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2005**

Thank you, Susan, for that kind introduction. Let's give the students
from Forest Park High School in Virginia another round of applause. It's
inspiring to see what our children can do with technology.

Each of our panelists today understands the importance of technology in
the classroom. I want to thank Phillip Bond for being here today. He is
Under Secretary for Technology at the U.S. Department of Commerce. And I
want to welcome St. Louis Assistant Superintendent Myrtle Reed, and Mark
Edwards, who is the Dean of the College of Education at the University
of North Alabama.

Tomorrow will mark the third anniversary of the day when President Bush
started a revolution in our schools with the stroke of a pen. I was
there that day. I peered over the President's shoulder and watched as he
signed his name to the most important educational reform bill of our
lifetime. That bill was the *No Child Left Behind Act*. And it has
forever improved our schools.

*No Child Left Behind* promised our children a brighter future---a
future where schools make sure all children succeed ... a future where
parents have more choices ... and a future where we embrace the
potential for technology to change the way schools teach and students
learn. In this spirit, I am proud to release a new report to Congress
today with my recommendations for a National Education Technology Plan.

From laptops in classrooms to digital textbooks, technology is
transforming how we think about education. If we are to realize the
promise of *No Child Left Behind*, we must continue to welcome these
changes.

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Computers have changed the way the world works. And we need to make sure
our children have the skills to compete in this new global economy.
Every single child deserves the opportunity to succeed in the 21^st^
century.

When President Bush and I first came to Washington four years ago, we
saw that the doors of opportunity were closed to millions of our most
vulnerable students. These students passed in and out of our schools
without learning anything. They entered the real world without any of
the basic skills needed to succeed in life.

Before *No Child Left Behind*, we tried to mend this problem by simply
throwing more and more money at it. Between 1966 and 2000, the federal
government spent almost \$130 billion on programs for disadvantaged
students, but little changed.

We needed to do better. And we knew we could if we held schools
accountable for results and gave parents more choices. So we passed *No
Child Left Behind* and forever changed the culture of our schools. The
law set a new expectation---an expectation that every single child can
and will succeed in school and in life.

*No Child Left Behind* has reintroduced accountability to our schools.
And a key part of accountability is listening to your clients. In the
education business, we have the most important clients in the
world---our children.

So when we prepared our recommendations for a National Education
Technology Plan, we did something very novel. We listened to the advice
of over two hundred thousand students. And it turns out our kids know a
thing or two about computers.

They have grown up with the World Wide Web at their fingertips. Many of
them cannot even remember a world without the Internet. They see the
potential for computers to revolutionize the classroom. And they are
worried that schools are not keeping up with the times.

We must not fall behind. A business that does not keep pace with change
will soon be out of business. And our schools are no different. We must
seize the moment and the new opportunities before us. *No Child Left
Behind* has given us a mission. And technology offers us another means
to achieve it.

Computers provide schools with new tools for tracking student
achievement and making sure no child falls behind. In the years before
*No Child Left Behind*, the test scores of underachieving students would
get lost in misleading averages. These students would then slip through
the cracks and fall behind. We want teachers to have the technology to
access real-time data, so they can see where students need extra help
before it is too late.

Online assessments and integrated data systems allow teachers to access
this information with just the click of a mouse. Teachers can then
tailor their lesson plans to students' special needs. The result is
higher achievement and fewer children falling behind.

I think of the story of Peabody Elementary School in St. Louis where
Myrtle Reed used to serve as principal. Most of the students at Peabody
come from low-income families. And in 2001, only 7 percent of the
school's third graders could read on grade level. It is a school that
could have succumbed to the soft bigotry of low expectations.

But instead of making excuses, Myrtle and her teaching staff made
changes. They introduced a system of online assessments and began to
track student progress on a daily basis. Teachers began to tailor lesson
plans to the strengths and weaknesses of their students. And by 2003, 80
percent of Peabody's third graders could read on grade level. That's
real progress. We need to learn from Myrtle's example, and I want to
thank her again for coming today to share her story.

Technology is changing how students learn. We can engage students in new
ways and transcend the walls of the traditional classroom. Using the
Internet, students can study primary sources from ages long past and
visit art galleries across the ocean without ever leaving their desks.
Every day can be a fieldtrip. The possibilities are endless.

We still have much work to do. Too many schools still see computers as
just fancy typewriters. The report I am submitting to Congress today
profiles both the progress we have made and the steps we can take to
move forward.

Change has to start with leaders at the state, local, and school level.
We must encourage them to continue to embrace new technology like
broadband Internet access, integrated student data systems, and online
instruction. Most importantly, we need to help prepare our teachers for
the classrooms of the 21^st^ century. Computers will not help our
students unless teachers have the training to use them.

We have reached a turning point in the history of American education. We
stand at the brink of a new golden age in our schools. When we passed
*No Child Left Behind* three years ago, we made a great promise to our
children. Technology can help us keep that promise. And together, we can
move toward a future where all children receive the quality education
they deserve.

Thank you.

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