Our progress is about far more than economics. America is more confident, hopeful and just, more secure and free, because we offered a vision and worked together to achieve it. We have doubled funding for Head Start and provided after-school and mentoring to more than one million young people. We're putting 100,000 well-trained teachers in the early grades to reduce class size. More than 90 percent of our schools are connected to the Internet.
All states have higher standards and more are requiring failing schools to turn around or shut down.
Reading and math scores are up. For the first time, African-Americans are graduating from high school at the same rate as white students. This year, our HOPE scholarship and Lifelong Learning tax cuts will help 10 million families pay for college. Our Earned Income Tax Credit will help 15 million families work their way into the middle class. Our empowerment zone tax credits are bringing new business and new jobs to our hardest pressed communities.