March 9, 2005

Honorable Michael B. Enzi
Chairman
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Chairman:

I am writing to express my strong opposition to S. 250, the Carl D. Perkins 
  Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2005, which would reauthorize 
  the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins 
  Act). The Perkins Act is currently the primary Federal funding source for educational 
  programs in high schools. Unfortunately, in its current form, the bill does 
  little to address the urgent challenge that has been highlighted by both President 
  Bush and the nation's governors to reform our nation's high schools.

Given the changing dynamic of the workforce, all students, including those 
  in vocational and technical education programs, need to complete high school 
  with a high level of academic skills and be prepared to participate in the globally 
  competitive workforce. Unfortunately, recent results from the National Assessment 
  of Educational Progress (NAEP) demonstrate that, while achievement for our Nation's 
  fourth- and eighth-graders is on the rise, scores for twelfth-graders have declined 
  in both reading and mathematics. Currently just 68 out of every 100 ninth-graders 
  will graduate from high school on time, and two-thirds of students leave high 
  school without the skills to succeed in college. Clearly, our high schools are 
  not getting the job done for America's students. With governors and educators 
  just beginning to consider various reform options, the President's High School 
  Initiative is essential to foster nationwide efforts to transform our high schools.

As you are aware, the President's fiscal year 2006 budget request proposed 
  to eliminate funding for the Vocational Education State Grants and National 
  programs, authorized by the Perkins Act. Career and technical education programs, 
  at their best, can provide students with both strong academic and advanced technical 
  skills, in a "real-world" context that can hold up against the best 
  schools and colleges, both in the United States and internationally. However, 
  under the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) process, the Vocational Education 
  State Grants program, by far the largest component of the Perkins Act, was rated 
  ineffective because it has produced little evidence of improved outcomes for 
  students despite decades of Federal investment. On the most recent NAEP assessments, 
  less than 10 percent of vocational students scored at or above proficiency in 
  mathematics (2000) and only 29 percent scored at or above proficiency in reading 
  (1998). In its final report to Congress in June 2004, the National Assessment 
  of Vocational Education (NAVE) found no evidence that high school vocational 
  courses themselves contribute to academic achievement or college enrollment. 
  Also, the NAVE did find that high school students, on average, earn more credits 
  in vocational education (4.2) than in math (3.5) or science (3.2). In addition, 
  the most telling data come from employers -- according to a February 2005 Achieve, 
  Inc. survey, employers estimate that 39 percent of high school graduates who 
  have no further education are not prepared for their current job and 45 percent 
  are unprepared for advancement.

As a result of these findings, and the widely recognized need for a more comprehensive 
  approach to the improvement of high school education, the President instead 
  proposes that these funds be redirected to support a new High School Initiative 
  to improve achievement and narrow achievement gaps at the high school level. 
  This proposed initiative will give educators greater flexibility to design and 
  implement programs that best meet the needs of all students, including career 
  and technical education students. The fiscal year 2006 budget also includes 
  funds to improve access to community colleges and to expand the training programs 
  administered by those institutions.

Enactment of S. 250 in its current form would continue to reauthorize, with 
  little change, the very programs that have been ineffective in improving the 
  quality of education of our Nation's career and technical education students. 
  It would be irresponsible to continue an investment in a program that does not 
  improve the education of students at the high school level.

The Perkins Act requires fundamental changes to its mission and focus. While 
  the Administration still supports a redirection of Perkins funds, any extension 
  of the Perkins Act should, at the very least:

- Promote a stronger academic foundation by ensuring that all career and 
    technical education (CTE) students receiving services under the Perkins Act 
    have access to a rigorous academic curriculum to prepare them to enter college 
    or the workforce. CTE students should have a smooth transition to a postsecondary 
    education program leading to a technical certificate, an associate or baccalaureate 
    degree, an apprenticeship, or a job. This change will support the findings 
    of the American Diploma Project, which concluded, "successful preparation 
    for both postsecondary education and employment requires learning the same 
    rigorous English and mathematics content and skills. No longer do students 
    planning to go to work after high school need a different and less rigorous 
    curriculum than those planning to go to college."
- Require that, by school year 2009-2010, students participating in Perkins 
    Act programs be tested annually in three high school grades in reading/language 
    arts and math in order to assess their progress in meeting State standards. 
    The President's FY 2006 budget proposed funding for high school assessments 
    so that principals and teachers have new tools and data to meet the needs 
    of individual students and strengthen high school accountability.
- Give the Secretary adequate authority to establish common measures to assess 
    program performance and to ensure that data provided by the States are valid 
    and reliable. In the bill's current form, State performance measures would 
    not have to be valid or reliable indicators of what they purport to measure. 
    It is thus inequitable to sanction eligible recipients, as the bill allows, 
    for failure to meet performance levels if the performance measures themselves 
    do not meet basic standards of validity and reliability.
- Provide the Secretary authority to negotiate specific performance measures 
    and targets, in percentage form, with each State. Currently, the bill would 
    permit States to continue using previously developed performance measures 
    and would limit the role of the Secretary to reaching agreement on the percentage 
    or numbers of students who attain the State-adjusted levels of performance.

The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no objection to the 
  submission of this report.

| | Sincerely,        
| | ------------------
| | /s/               
| | Margaret Spellings





---

March 9, 2005

Honorable John A. Boehner
  Chairman
  Committee on Education and the Workforce
  House of Representatives
  Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

I am writing to express my strong opposition to H.R. 366, the Vocational and 
  Technical Education for the Future Act, which would reauthorize the Carl D. 
  Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins Act). The Perkins 
  Act is currently the primary Federal funding source for educational programs 
  in high schools. Unfortunately, in its current form, the bill does little to 
  address the urgent challenge that has been highlighted by both President Bush 
  and the nation's governors to reform our nation's high schools.

Given the changing dynamic of the workforce, all students, including those 
  in vocational and technical education programs, need to complete high school 
  with a high level of academic skills and be prepared to participate in the globally 
  competitive workforce. Unfortunately, recent results from the National Assessment 
  of Educational Progress (NAEP) demonstrate that, while achievement for our Nation's 
  fourth- and eighth-graders is on the rise, scores for twelfth-graders have declined 
  in both reading and mathematics. Currently, just 68 out of every 100 ninth-graders 
  will graduate from high school on time, and two-thirds of students leave high 
  school without the skills to succeed in college. Clearly, our high schools are 
  not getting the job done for America's students. With governors and educators 
  just beginning to consider various reform options, the President's High School 
  Initiative is essential to foster nationwide efforts to transform our high schools.

As you are aware, the President's fiscal year 2006 budget request proposed 
  to eliminate funding for the Vocational Education State Grants and National 
  programs, authorized by the Perkins Act. Career and technical education programs, 
  at their best, can provide students with both strong academic and advanced technical 
  skills, in a "real-world" context that can hold up against the best 
  schools and colleges, both in the United States and internationally. However, 
  under the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) process, the Vocational Education 
  State Grants program, by far the largest component of the Perkins Act, was rated 
  ineffective because it has produced little evidence of improved outcomes for 
  students despite decades of Federal investment. On the most recent NAEP assessments, 
  less than 10 percent of vocational students scored at or above proficiency in 
  mathematics (2000) and only 29 percent scored at or above proficiency in reading 
  (1998). In its final report to Congress in June 2004, the National Assessment 
  of Vocational Education (NAVE) found no evidence that high school vocational 
  courses themselves contribute to academic achievement or college enrollment. 
  Also, the NAVE did find that high school students, on average, earn more credits 
  in vocational education (4.2) than in math (3.5) or science (3.2). In addition, 
  the most telling data come from employers -- according to a February 2005 Achieve, 
  Inc. survey, employers estimate that 39 percent of high school graduates who 
  have no further education are not prepared for their current job and 45 percent 
  are unprepared for advancement.

As a result of these findings, and the widely recognized need for a more comprehensive 
  approach to the improvement of high school education, the President instead 
  proposes that these funds be redirected to support a new High School Initiative 
  to improve achievement and narrow achievement gaps at the high school level. 
  This proposed initiative will give educators greater flexibility to design and 
  implement programs that best meet the needs of all students, including career 
  and technical education students. The fiscal year 2006 budget also includes 
  funds to improve access to community colleges and to expand the training programs 
  administered by those institutions.

Enactment of H.R. 366 in its current form would continue to reauthorize, with 
  little change, the very programs that have been ineffective in improving the 
  quality of education of our Nation's career and technical education students. 
  It would be irresponsible to continue an investment in a program that does not 
  improve the education of students at the high school level. While H.R. 366 does 
  take steps to encourage States to improve the academic preparation of career 
  and technical education students, the bill does not go far enough in providing 
  for a strong academic foundation for our high school students.

The Perkins Act requires fundamental changes to its mission and focus. While 
  the Administration still supports a redirection of Perkins funds, any extension 
  of the Perkins Act should at the very least:

- Promote a stronger academic foundation by ensuring that all career and technical 
    education (CTE) students receiving services under the Perkins Act have access 
    to a rigorous academic curriculum to prepare them to enter college or the 
    workforce. CTE students should have a smooth transition to a postsecondary 
    education program leading to a technical certificate, an associate or baccalaureate 
    degree, an apprenticeship, or a job. This change will support the findings 
    of the American Diploma Project, which concluded, "successful preparation 
    for both postsecondary education and employment requires learning the same 
    rigorous English and mathematics content and skills. No longer do students 
    planning to go to work after high school need a different and less rigorous 
    curriculum than those planning to go to college."
- Require that, by school year 2009-2010, students participating in Perkins 
    Act programs be tested annually in three high school grades in reading/language 
    arts and math in order to assess their progress in meeting State standards. 
    The President's FY 2006 budget proposed funding for high school assessments 
    so that principals and teachers have new tools and data to meet the needs 
    of individual students and strengthen high school accountability.
- Give the Secretary adequate authority to establish common measures to assess 
    program performance and to ensure that data provided by the States are valid 
    and reliable. Despite language in the bill mandating that the core indicators 
    of performance be "valid and reliable," this requirement is rendered 
    meaningless since the State would determine validity and reliability and this 
    standard is to be followed only to the extent "practicable." It 
    is thus inequitable to sanction eligible recipients, as the bill allows, for 
    failure to meet performance levels if the performance measures themselves 
    do not meet basic standards of validity and reliability.
- Provide the Secretary authority to negotiate specific performance measures 
    and targets, in percentage form, with each State. Currently, the bill would 
    permit States to continue using previously developed performance measures 
    and would limit the role of the Secretary to reaching agreement on the percentage 
    or numbers of students who attain the State-adjusted levels of performance.

The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no objection to the 
  submission of this report.

| | Sincerely,        
| | ------------------
| | /s/               
| | Margaret Spellings





|Last Modified: 03/09/2005
|-------------------------