Answering the Challenge of a Changing World

Strengthening Education for the 21st Century

U . S . D E PA R T M E N T O F E D U C AT I O N
Answering the Challenge of 

a Changing World

Strengthening Education 

for the 21st Century

U.S. Department of Education

2006
U.S. Department of Education

Margaret Spellings

Secretary

First published January 2006. Revised April 2006.

This publication is in the public domain except for the black and white photograph on page 2 which was copyrighted in 1956 by THE NEW YORK 

TIMES COMPANY. Authorization to reproduce this publication in whole 

or in part is granted with this exception. While permission to reprint this 

publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of 

Education, Office of the Secretary, Answering the Challenge of a Changing 

World: Strengthening Education for the 21st Century, Washington, D.C., 

2006.

This report is also available on the Department’s Web site at http://www.

ed.gov/about/inits/ed/competitiveness.

On request, this publication can be made available in alternate formats, 

such as Braille, large print and computer diskette. For more information, 

please contact the Department’s Alternate Format Center at (202) 260-0852 

or (202) 260-0818.

Photo Credits

Cover photo of child writing, page 2 color photo, page 5 color photo, and 

photos on pages 12 and 20 by Paul Wood, U.S. Department of Education; page 2: Black and white photo © 1956 THE NEW YORK TIMES 

COMPANY, reprinted by permission; page 4: Photo courtesy of National 

Archives and Records Administration, photo number 306-PSD69-3045; 

page 5: Black and white photo courtesy of National Archives and Records 

Administration, photo number 306-PS-60-14892; photos on pages 6, 8, 15, 

17 and 22 and color photo on page 25 by Leslie Williams, U.S. Department 

of Education.
1

We need to encourage children to take more 

math and science, and to make sure those 

courses are rigorous enough to compete 

with other nations. ... If we ensure that 

America’s children succeed in life, they will 

ensure that America succeeds in the world.

 —President George W. Bush

High school reform is not just an “education 

issue.” It’s also an economic issue, a civic 

issue, a social issue and a national security 

issue. And it’s everybody’s issue.

 —U.S. Secretary of Education

 Margaret Spellings
2

3

Our greatest advantage in 

the world has always been 

our educated, hard-working, 

ambitious people—and we’re 

going to keep that edge. 

—President George W. Bush

America has long been innovation’s home. It’s in our very DNA, 

born from a desire to be free that was ahead of its time. When 

faced with a challenge, we invent 

the answer: from the first tele-

phone to global satellite commu-

nications; from the first computer 

to the World Wide Web; from 

the Wright Brothers to Neil Arm-

strong. To Americans, innova

-

tion means much more than the 

latest gadget. It means creating 

a more productive, prosperous, 

mobile and healthy society. Innovation fuels our way of life and im

-

proves our quality of life. And its wellspring is education.

President Bush has made innovation and education top priorities. 

He worked with Congress to pass the most far-reaching education 

reform in decades, the No Child Left Behind Act 

(NCLB). The law 

has brought high standards and accountability to public schools and 

sparked a mathematics and reading revival in the early grades. The 

president has also increased funding for innovative and intensive read-

ing programs such as Reading First by more than 200 percent since 

2001, benefiting more than a million students.

Answering the Challenge 

Of a Changing World

Strengthening Education for the 21st Century

Introduction

The Challenge: To Innovate Education
4 5

The rest of the world, 

meanwhile, has not stood still. 

America no longer holds the sole 

patent on innovation. Inspired 

by our example, countries such 

as China, India and South Korea 

have invested heavily in education, technology and R & D. 

Billions of new competitors are 

challenging America’s economic 

leadership. Our educational leadership has been challenged as well, with students 

from many developed nations outperforming ours in international tests, particularly 

in math and science. These test scores are linked to a lack of challenging course 

work, an ominous sign for many American schools. The impact may be felt well 

into the future: According to some estimates, America’s share of the world’s science 

and engineering doctorates is predicted to fall to 15 percent by 2010.

This global challenge calls for bold action and leadership. America has done it 

before. Following the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, Congress passed and President Eisenhower signed into law the National Defense 

Education Act of 1958. The law accelerated the study of mathematics and science 

and helped improve foreign language 

teaching in our schools. It brought 

together the public and private sectors 

behind the effort. And it worked. 

In 2005, foreign-owned companies 

were a majority of the top 10 

recipients of patents awarded by the 

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

FACT:

The Congress hereby finds and 

declares that the security of 

the Nation requires the fullest 

development of the mental 

resources and technical skills of 

its young men and women.

—National Defense 

Education Act of 1958

Within a decade, the number of science and engineering doctorates awarded in the 

U.S. annually had tripled, accounting for more than half the world’s total by 1970.

Today, America faces not a streaking satellite but a rapidly changing global 

workforce. The spread of freedom is spurring technological innovation and 

global competition at a pace never before seen. We have to run to keep up. A 

high school diploma, once desirable, is now essential—and, increasingly, insufficient. About 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs of the future will require 

some postsecondary education. It is therefore unacceptable that among all 

ninth-graders, approximately three in 10 do not graduate on time, or that for 

black and Hispanic students the figure is about five in 10.

Whether filling blue-collar or 

white-collar positions, employers now 

seek workers with “pocket protector” 

skills—practical problem-solvers fluent in today’s technology. If current 

trends continue, by 2012 over 40 

percent of factory jobs will require 

postsecondary education, according 

to the National Association of Manufacturers. And yet, almost half of our 

17-year-olds do not have the basic 

understanding of math needed to 

qualify for a production associate’s job 

at a modern auto plant.

U.S. manufacturing will no 

longer employ millions in lowskilled jobs. Tomorrow’s jobs 

will go to those with education 

in science, engineering, and 

mathematics and to high-skill 

technical workers. Such a 

workforce is an important key 

to future growth, productivity, 

and competitiveness.

—National Association of 

Manufacturers, The Looming 

Workforce Crisis, 2005
6 7

Innovating and improving education is critical not only to America’s financial security but also to our national security. Today, not 

one but 3,000 satellites circle the earth. U.S. soldiers use the latest 

technology and communications to fight the global war on terrorism. 

Advanced math skills are used to identify and undermine terrorist 

networks. Government and the private sector look to engineer new 

ways to protect lives and infrastructure from harm. And the effort to 

spread freedom to other nations and cultures demands speakers fluent 

in languages such as Arabic, Farsi, Chinese and Russian. Addressing 

these challenges will advance opportunity and entrepreneurship at 

home and promote democracy and understanding abroad.

Rigorous instruction, high standards and accountability for results are helping to raise achievement in the early grades. Now America must complete the task. With our students working to achieve 

grade-level proficiency in 

math and reading by 2014, 

as called for by NCLB, innovative education reform 

is needed. America’s civic, 

political and business leaders agree: To sustain our 

quality of life and way of 

life, we must act now. And 

President Bush is leading 

the charge.

FACT:

More than half of the 

undergraduate degrees awarded in 

China are in the fields of science, 

technology, engineering and math, 

compared to 16 percent in the U.S.

The Answer: 

 President Bush’s 2006 Education Agenda

President Bush’s answer to America’s newest challenge begins with the American Competitiveness Initiative. The 

American Competitiveness Initiative will commit $380 million in education funding and $5.9 billion overall in FY 2007 

—and more than $136 billion over the next 10 years—to 

strengthen education, promote research and development and 

encourage entrepreneurship. The initiative will bring together 

leaders from the public sector, private sector and education community to better 

prepare our students for the 

21st century. It will place 

a greater emphasis on math 

instruction from the earliest 

grade levels. It will ensure 

that high schools offer more 

rigorous course work, including Advanced Placement 

and International Baccalaureate programs in math, 

science and critical-need foreign languages. It will inform 

teachers of the most effective, research-based approaches to 

teaching math and science. It will encourage professionals in 

those fields to become teachers themselves. And it will coordinate federal math and science education programs to ensure 

the most effective use of the taxpayers’ dollars.

The president’s High School Reform Initiative ($1.475 

billion in FY 2007) will help ensure that a diploma becomes 

a ticket to success for all graduates, whether they enter the 

workforce or go on to higher education. It will bring high 

standards and accountability to high schools by aligning their 

The first bulwark in the face of 

rapidly changing economies and 

job markets is the flexibility and 

adaptability of the labor force. 

This adaptability begins with 

the formal educational system, 

especially the public schools. 

—Ben Bernanke, 

Federal Reserve Board 

chairman 
8 9

academic goals and performance 

with the No Child Left Behind 

Act. Through assessments and 

targeted interventions, the initiative will help educators raise 

achievement levels and close the 

achievement gap. It will also help 

alleviate the dropout problem by 

focusing more attention on at-risk 

students struggling to reach grade 

level in reading or math.

Finally, the president’s National 

Security Language Initiative ($57 million in FY 2007), announced 

on Jan. 5, 2006, will help more American students master critical-need 

foreign languages to advance global competitiveness and national security. 

This joint project, in collaboration with the Department of State, Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 

will train teachers and assist students in those fields.

The inadequacies of our systems 

of research and education 

pose a greater threat to U.S. 

national security over the next 

quarter-century than any 

potential conventional war 

that we might imagine.

— U.S. Commission on 

National Security/21st 

Century (Hart-Rudman 

Commission), 2001

The Challenge: Knowledge of Math and Science

I

n this changing world, knowledge of math and science is 

paramount. “It’s a magnificent 

time to know math,” writes Businessweek, in an article entitled

“Math Will Rock Your World.” 

So-called “math entrepreneurs” 

are translating the world into 

numbers—which translates into 

big salaries. According to the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, job 

openings requiring science, engineering or technical training will 

increase by more than 24 percent, to 6.3 million, by 2014.

Of all of the recommendations contained in the National Academies’ report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, the highest priority is 

to vastly improve K–12 math and science education. Schools must 

help students develop the skills they will need to compete and succeed 

in higher education and the 

workforce, which are increasingly connected in this 

changed world. They must 

develop a pool of technically 

adept and numerically literate 

Americans to ensure a continual supply of highly trained 

mathematicians, scientists 

and engineers.

FACT:

Just 7 percent of America’s fourth- and 

eighth-graders achieved the “advanced” 

level on the most recent Trends in 

International Mathematics and Science 

Study (TIMSS, 2003) test. In Singapore, 

38 percent of fourth-graders and 44 

percent of eighth-graders did.

 

We must improve the way we 

teach math in our elementary 

schools. It’s not just about 

helping younger students develop 

strong arithmetic skills; it’s about 

planting the seeds of higher-order 

thinking for later in life. 

—Secretary Margaret Spellings
10 11

We clearly have a long way to go. High school test scores in math 

have barely budged since the early 1970s. The percentage of seniors 

scoring below “basic” level on the National Assessment of Educational 

Progress assessments actually rose between 1996 and 2000 (see chart below). And less than half of high school graduates in 2005 were ready for 

college-level math and science course work, according to ACT.

In 1983, the landmark A Nation at Risk report recommended that 

high school students be required to take a minimum of three years of 

math and three years of science to graduate. Yet today, only 22 states 

and the District of Columbia require at least this amount to graduate in 

the class of 2006. Even fewer require high school exit exams (which are 

often administered in 10th or 11th grade, leading many employers and 

universities to discount the results). Just one state—Alabama—calls for 

current students to take four years of both science and math to graduate.

The result is that as America’s students grow older, the rest of the 

world catches up with them. Our 15-year-olds ranked 24th out of 29 

developed nations in mathematics literacy and problem-solving, according to the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 

test. The U.S. had a smaller percentage of top performers and a larger 

percentage of low performers than the average of all developed countries.

A major part of the answer is 

teacher training. Three out of four 

fourth-grade math and science 

teachers in the U.S. do not have 

a specialization in those subjects. 

And students from low-income 

communities are far less likely to 

have teachers certified in the subject they teach. Shadowing it all, 

two-thirds of our math and science 

teachers are expected to retire by 

2010, according to the National 

Commission on Mathematics and 

Science Teaching for the 21st Century. But talented teachers are always 

in great demand. 

In this changing world, providing greater access to Advanced Placement courses is a must. AP courses benefit not only the students who 

take them but also the schools that offer them, whose curricula are 

upgraded and improved as a result. Students who take advanced math 

courses such as trigonometry, precalculus and calculus in high school are 

far more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree in college. AP calculus students 

ranked first in the world on the Trends in International Mathematics and 

Science Study (TIMSS) test; U.S. students overall ranked second to last.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

AP students are 

much more

likely than their 

peers to

graduate from

college in four 

years. 29%

45%

61%

No AP course

One AP course

Two + AP courses

AP Course Participation, by Number of Courses

Source: College Board, 2006 Percentage of Students

Percentage Participation

To succeed in [this] marketplace, 

U.S. firms need employees who 

are flexible, knowledgeable, 

and scientifically and 

mathematically literate. 

—Norman Augustine, former 

chairman and CEO, Lockheed 

Martin; Chair, Committee 

on Prospering in the Global 

Economy of the 21st Century

Math Performance of U.S. 12th-Graders

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How to read these 

figures:

The percentages 

to the right of 

the shaded bars 

represent the 

percentages of 

students at or 

above Basic and 

Proficient.

The percentages 

in the shaded 

bars represent 

the percentages 

of sudents within 

each achievement 

level.

★Significantly different from 2000.

NOTE: Percentages within each mathematics achievement level range may not add to 100, or to 

the exact percentages at or above achievement levels, due to rounding.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress 

(NAEP),1990,1992, 1996 and 2000 mathematics assessments.
12 13

Some progress has been made. Since 2000, the percentage of students who have taken and passed Advanced Placement courses has risen 

in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the College 

Board. Even so, more than one-third of high schools—many serving 

predominantly low-income and minority students—still do not offer 

any AP courses. Based on PSAT scores, there were nearly a half million 

students in America ready for AP calculus last year who didn’t take it or 

have access to it.

While many students eagerly await this opportunity, others still 

harbor negative views toward math and science. Old attitudes die hard. 

A recent survey commissioned by the Raytheon Company found that 84 

percent of middle school students 

would rather clean their rooms, take 

out the garbage or go to the dentist 

than do their math homework. According to the Business Roundtable, 

just 5 percent of parents say they 

would “try to persuade their child 

toward careers in science, technology, mathematics or engineering.” 

Many people still view math and science as “nerdy” subjects with little relevance to the “real world.” Like it or not, that world has changed forever.

In China today, Bill Gates is 

Britney Spears. In America 

today, Britney Spears is Britney 

Spears – and that is our problem. 

— Thomas Friedman, 

The World Is Flat, 2005

President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative seeks to improve learning and instruction in mathematics and science through 

the following:

• National Mathematics Panel ($10 million): Modeled after the 

influential National Reading Panel, the National Math Panel would 

convene experts to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of various 

approaches to teaching math, creating a research base to improve 

instructional methods for teachers. It would lay the groundwork for 

the Math Now program for grades K–7 to prepare every student to 

take and pass algebra;

• Math Now for Elementary School Students ($125 million): Like 

the successful and popular Reading First program, Math Now for 

Elementary School Students would promote 

promising, research-based 

practices in mathematics 

instruction and prepare 

students for more rigorous math course work in 

middle and high school;

• Math Now for Middle 

School Students ($125 

million): Similar to the current Striving Readers Initiative, Math 

Now for Middle School Students would diagnose students’ deficiencies in math proficiency and provide intensive and systematic instruction to enable them to take and pass algebra;

FACT:

Students from low-income families 

who acquire strong math skills 

by the eighth grade are 10 times 

more likely to finish college than 

peers of the same socioeconomic 

background who do not.

The Answer: 

American Competitiveness Initiative 

$380 Million in FY 2007
14 15

• Advanced Placement-International Baccalaureate (APIB) Incentive Program ($122 

million—$90 million over 2006 

levels): The AP-IB Incentive 

Program would train 70,000 

additional teachers to lead AP-IB 

math, science and critical-need 

language courses over the next 

five years. It would increase the number of students taking AP-IB 

tests to 1.5 million by 2012, tripling the number of passing test-takers to approximately 700,000 while giving them the opportunity to 

earn college credit;

• Adjunct Teacher Corps ($25 million): The Adjunct Teacher Corps 

would encourage by 2015, 30,000 qualified math and science professionals to share their knowledge as adjunct high school teachers.

• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Federal Science, Technology, 

Engineering and Math (STEM) programs ($5 million): A governmentwide effort would be undertaken to determine which federal 

education programs are most effective in raising achievement in 

math and science, which deserve more funding and which should be 

consolidated to save taxpayer money. The initiative would also align 

these education programs with the goals and aims of the No Child 

Left Behind Act. Thirteen agencies reported spending $2.8 billion on 

207 education programs in FY 2004. About half of the programs 

dedicated to math and science received less than $1 million in funding, with most targeted to postsecondary education; and 

• Including Science Assessments in NCLB: NCLB requires every 

state to develop and administer science assessments once in each 

of three grade spans by the 2007–08 school year. Including these 

assessments in the accountability system will ensure students are 

learning the necessary content and skills to be successful in the 21stcentury workforce.

One of the best standard 

predictors of academic 

success at Harvard is 

performance on Advanced 

Placement examinations.

—Bill Fitzsimmons, dean of 

Admissions and Financial 

Aid, Harvard University

• Academic Competitiveness grants and SMART Grant Program ($850 

million in FY 2007): Approved by Congress, these two higher education 

grant programs build on the success of the Pell Grant Program and will 

benefit more than 500,000 students in need.

 Academic Competitiveness grants will provide increased funds for lowincome students who take a rigorous academic curriculum in high school. 

Grants in the amount of $750 would be awarded to qualified first-year 

college students who completed a rigorous high school program; grants 

in the amount of $1,300 would be awarded to second-year students who 

completed a rigorous program and who earn and maintain a 3.0 average 

in college.

 SMART grants, in the amount of $4,000, will go to college juniors and 

seniors studying math, science or critical-need foreign languages who also 

earn and maintain a 3.0 GPA. This will encourage more students to go 

into fields that improve America’s security and competitiveness.

• Mathematics and Science Partnerships ($182 million in FY 2007): 

This program supports the American Competitiveness Initiative by 

providing state formula grants to help improve students’ academic 

achievement in rigorous math and science courses. It also assists teachers 

by integrating proven, research-based teaching methods into the curricula.

• Expanded Teacher Loan Forgiveness: This popular program offers up 

to $17,500 (up from $5,000) in loan forgiveness for highly qualified 

math, science and special education teachers serving challenging, lowincome schools and communities.

Other Math and Science Initiatives
16 17

The Challenge: 

 Accelerating Our Schools’ Progress

I

nnovating and improving America’s schools will not occur overnight. It 

took time for eight other developed nations to surpass America’s high 

school graduation rate among adults aged 25 to 34; and it will take time for 

the U.S. to regain its leadership. We must start by accelerating our progress.

A national problem demands a 

comprehensive solution. As Secretary 

Spellings noted, “The competition 

starts in elementary school.” The 

good news is that educators and policymakers are learning more and more 

about what works. A half-century 

ago, the U.S. turned the threat of 

Soviet competition into proof of our 

ability to improve our schools and 

quality of life. Just four years ago, the 

U.S. turned a growing achievement 

gap into the bipartisan No Child Left 

Behind Act.

The law set a course for all students to attain grade-level proficiency 

in the core subjects of reading and math by 2014. Students in grades 3 

through 8 are now learning under high standards. Teachers are using proven 

instructional methods. Schools are being held accountable for results. Parents have more information and choices. And states have more flexibility 

to spend federal K–12 education funds, which have increased by 40 percent 

since 2001.

The early results are in. Across the country, academic achievement has 

risen significantly in the earliest grades, with math scores at all-time highs, 

including among African-American and Hispanic students. In the last two 

years, the number of fourth-graders who learned their fundamental math 

skills increased by 235,000—enough to fill 500 elementary schools. More 

reading progress was made among 9-year-olds over the last five years than 

in the previous 28 years combined. Meanwhile, according to the Nation’s 

Thanks to the [No Child Left 

Behind] law, which requires 

states to assess children annually 

and to break down the results 

by minority group and income 

level, it has for the first time 

become possible to track which 

schools are failing which students. 

More important, the law also 

requires states to turn schools 

around and help them succeed. 

— Editorial, Washington Post,

Feb. 5, 2006

Report Card, the achievement gaps in reading and math between white and 

African-American 9-year-olds and between white and Hispanic 9-year-olds 

are at all-time lows. Educators use terms like “amazing,” “stunning” and 

“remarkable” to describe the progress.

No Child Left Behind has set 

the goal of every child achieving, 

but the states and schools themselves have done the heavy lifting 

to make the law work. For the 

first time, all 50 states have unique 

accountability plans in place, with 

real consequences attached. The 

results can be seen in schools like 

Maryland’s North Glen Elementary. In 2003, just 57 percent of 

North Glen’s students were proficient in reading, while 46 percent 

were proficient in math. Those 

numbers have skyrocketed to 82 

percent and 84 percent, respectively. As First Lady Laura Bush said during a recent visit to North Glen, 

“They’ve taken advantage of all the aspects of the No Child Left Behind law.”

Another example is Charles L. Gideons Elementary School in Atlanta. 

The number of its students meeting Georgia’s standards in reading increased 

by 23 percentage points since 2003. For math the news is even better: a 34 

percentage-point improvement during the same period.

We’ve seen the results in my own 

state of Massachusetts. Student 

achievement is up across the 

board in both reading and 

math. We’ve made significant 

progress in educating children 

with disabilities. We’re seeing 

the results of the No Child 

Left Behind reforms in other 

parts of the country, too. ... 

Research-based instruction, 

assessments, and targeted 

interventions are working.

—Sen. Edward Kennedy 

(D-Mass.)
18 19

A districtwide success occurred in Garden Grove, Calif. 

Three-fourths of the Garden Grove 

Unified School District’s students 

did not speak English. Nearly 60 

percent were from low-income 

families. Nevertheless, all but two 

of the district’s 67 schools met or 

exceeded their Adequate Yearly 

Progress goals under the law.

The No Child Left Behind Act was designed to improve achievement. 

But it has also shown us what is achievable. Educators, administrators and 

public officials are working together, united behind a worthy goal. Now 

it’s time to apply the act’s successful principles to our nation’s high schools.

There is not a moment to waste. Governors and business leaders 

are united in calling for urgent reform. Every year approximately one 

million students drop out of high 

school, costing the nation more 

than $260 billion dollars in lost 

wages, taxes and productivity over 

the students’ lifetimes. A high 

school graduate can expect to earn 

about $275,000 more over the 

course of his or her lifetime than 

a student who doesn’t finish high 

school; a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree can expect to earn 

about $1 million more. Dropouts are also three-and-a-half times more 

likely to be arrested, according to reports. Encouraging at-risk students 

to stay in school by addressing their academic needs will improve their 

quality of life and that of their fellow Americans.

We use No Child Left Behind

to set the targets we want to hit. 

We align all our actions and 

resources to hit those targets. And 

we believe the kids can do it.

—Laura Schwalm, 

superintendent, Garden Grove 

Unified School District 

Every kid can graduate ready 

for college. Every kid should 

have the chance. Let’s redesign 

our schools to make it happen.

—Bill Gates, chairman, 

Microsoft Corporation

Giving Americans the math and science skills they need will help 

us remain a world economic leader. Teaching students under the 

highest standards and offering more rigorous coursework will help us 

remain an education leader.

The president’s High School Reform Initiative would hold 

high schools accountable for providing high-quality education to 

all students. And it would help educators implement strategies to 

meet the needs of at-risk high school students. The proposed program would make formula grants 

to states to support:

• The development, implementation and evaluation of targeted interventions designed to 

improve the academic performance of students most at risk 

of failing to meet state academic 

standards; and

• Expanded high school assessments that would assist educators in 

increasing accountability and meeting the needs of at-risk students.

Interventions would be designed to increase the achievement of 

high school students; eliminate achievement gaps between students 

from different ethnic and racial groups and income levels; and help 

ensure that students graduate with the education, skills and knowledge 

necessary to succeed in postsecondary education and in the technologybased global economy.

A key strategy would be the development of individual performance 

plans for students entering high school, using eighth-grade assessment 

data in consultation with parents, teachers and counselors. Specific 

interventions may include programs that combine rigorous academic 

course work with vocational and technical training, research-based 

High schools are failing to 

prepare too many of our students 

for work and higher education.

—Achieve, Inc. and National 

Governors Association, 

An Action Agenda for 

Impoving America’s 

High Schools, 2005

The Answer:

The High School Reform Initiative 

$1.475 Billion in FY 2007
20 21

dropout prevention activities, and the use of technology-based assessment 

systems to closely monitor student progress. In addition, programs that 

identify at-risk middle school students for assistance would help prepare 

them to succeed in high school and enter postsecondary education. This 

includes college preparation and awareness activities for students from lowincome families.

The president’s proposal also would require states to develop and implement reading and mathematics assessments in two additional grade levels in 

high school, building on the current NCLB requirement for testing once in 

grades 10–12. The new assessments would inform strategies 

to strengthen school accountability and meet the needs of 

at-risk students.

Additional Support

 Striving Readers ($100 

million in FY 2007): First 

funded in 2005, this program would be expanded significantly to reach 

more secondary students reading below grade level, which puts them 

at risk of dropping out. Students would benefit from research-based 

interventions coupled with rigorous evaluations. Schools also would 

benefit from activities and programs designed to improve the overall 

quality of literacy instruction across the entire curriculum.

Only one in five recent 

high school graduates in 

the workforce say they were 

challenged with high academic 

expectations in high school, 

according to Achieve, Inc.

FACT:

The Challenge: 

 Promoting Freedom and Understanding

America faces a severe shortage of people who speak languages that are crucial to its national security and global competitiveness:

• According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, less than onefourth of public elementary schools report teaching foreign languages, even though a child’s early years are the best years in which 

to learn a new language.

• Less than 1 percent of American high school students 

study Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, 

Japanese, Korean, Russian or 

Urdu—combined.

• Less than 8 percent of undergraduates in American universities take foreign language courses, 

and less than 2 percent study 

abroad in any given year.

While only 44 percent of U.S. high school students were studying a 

foreign language in 2002, learning a second or even a third foreign language is compulsory for students in the European Union, China, Thailand and elsewhere.

More than 200 million children in China study English. By comparison, only about 24,000 elementary and secondary school children in the 

U.S. study Chinese. Many students in other nations begin learning another language before they are even 10 years old. They will have an edge 

over monolingual Americans and others in developing new relationships 

and business connections in countries other than their own.

To prepare young Americans 

to understand the peoples 

who will help to define the 

21st century, nothing is more 

important than our ability to 

converse in their native tongues. 

— U.S. Secretary of State 

Condoleezza Rice
22 23

The Answer: 

 National Security Language Initiative 

 $57 Million in FY 2007

Critical-need foreign language skills are necessary to advance the twin 

goals of national security and global competitiveness. Together with the 

Department of State, Department of Defense and the Office of the Director 

of National Intelligence, the Department of Education will propose to offer 

grants and training for teachers under President Bush’s National Security 

Language Initiative.

The initiative will increase the number of Americans who speak and 

teach foreign languages, with an emphasis on critical-need languages. It 

will strengthen and refocus the federal Foreign Language Assistance Program, and will initially enable 24 school districts across the country to create 

partnerships with colleges and universities to develop critical-need language 

programs. Among the critical-need languages identified are Arabic, Chinese, 

Korean, Japanese, and Russian, as well as languages in the Indic, Iranian and 

Turkic families.

The National Security Language Initiative will also provide funding 

to create a Language Teacher Corps, with the goal of having 1,000 new 

foreign language teachers in U.S. schools by the end of the decade. And 

it will enable the creation of the e-Learning Language Clearinghouse and 

expanded Teacher-to-Teacher seminars to assist foreign language teachers 

anytime, anywhere.

Conclusion

Thanks to our schools, the 

20th century was known as 

the “American Century.” The 21st 

century remains to be claimed. But 

Americans have never backed down 

from a challenge. This changing 

world offers another opportunity 

for Americans to shine, and the 

President’s American Competitiveness Initiative and the rest of his 

2006 education agenda will help set 

the course.

America’s schools and students have made great progress in improving 

academic achievement in the early grades. But like athletes or musicians, 

children of all ages must work hard each and every day if they wish to 

compete, perform and succeed—and their schools must show them the 

way. The president’s 2006 education agenda will help prepare the students of today to become the successful leaders—the pioneers, discoverers 

and Nobel Prize winners—of the next American Century.

PRESIDENT’S AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS

 INITIATIVE: EDUCATION

 

* includes $32 million for AP-IB from FY 2006

Math Panel $ 10 million

Math Now for Elementary Students $125 million

Math Now for Middle School Students $125 million

AP-IB $122 million *

Adjunct Teacher Corps $ 25 million

Evaluation of Federal STEM programs $ 5 million

FY 2007 Budget Request

In the 21st century, economic 

power will be derived from 

skills and innovation. 

Nations that don’t invest 

in skills will weaken; it is 

that straightforward.

—Louis Gerstner Jr., former 

chairman and CEO, IBM
24 25

Endnotes

Page 4: The estimate of America’s share of the world’s science and 

engineering doctorates is from “Does Globalization of the 

Scientific/Engineering Workforce Threaten U.S. Economic 

Leadership?”, by Richard B. Freeman, in Working Paper Series,

National Bureau of Economic Research: Working Paper 11457, 

June 2005, page 5.

Page 5: The estimate of the percentage of the fastest-growing jobs that 

will require postsecondary education is from remarks by U.S. 

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, on Feb. 22, 2006, at the 

WIRED Initiative Town Hall Event in Washington, D.C.

 The estimates of graduation rates for all, black and Hispanic 

ninth-graders are from “Public High School Graduation and 

College-Readiness Rates: 1991-2002,” by Jay P. Greene and 

Marcus A. Winters, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 

New York: Education Working Paper No. 8, February 2005.

Page 12: The survey by the Raytheon Company regarding middleschoolers’ attitudes toward math is from www.raytheon.com/

about/contributions/mathmovesu (accessed April 4, 2006).

 The Business Roundtable study, Innovation and U.S. 

Competitiveness: Addressing the Talent Gap, 2005, is at www.

businessroundtable.org/pdf/20060112Two-pager.pdf (accessed 

April 4, 2006). 
Our mission is to ensure equal access to education 

and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation.

www.ed.gov

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No Child

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