The White House released several excerpts from President Obama’s remarks to the National Governors Association today. Read them in full after the jump.
America’s prosperity has always rested on how well we educate our children – but never more so than today. This is true for our workers, when a college graduate earns over 60 percent more in a lifetime than a high school graduate. This is true for our businesses, when according to one study; six in ten say they simply can’t find qualified people to fill open positions.
And yet, we continue to lag in several critical areas. Our eighth graders are 9th in the world in math, and 11th in science. In response to assessments like these, some states have upped their game, like Massachusetts, where eighth graders now tie for first in the world in science. Some have actually done the opposite – between 2005 and 2007, under No Child Left Behind, eleven states actually lowered their standards in math.
That may make states look better against one another, but it won’t help our students keep up with their global counterparts. When I visited South Korea last year, President Lee told me that his biggest education challenge has nothing to do with budget issues or political fights – it’s that Korean parents are too demanding. They want their kids to learn everything right away – math, science, foreign languages. They want to out-educate their kids to out-compete ours. That’s what we’re up against. That’s what’s at stake – nothing less than our primacy in the world.
Well, I do not accept second place for the United States of America. That’s why we launched Race to the Top, a national competition to spur reform and improvement in our schools. We put $4 billion on the table and challenged states to compete for it, saying if you embrace reforms that raise achievement; track and respond to student needs; evaluate and reward great teachers and principals; and turn around failing schools; we’ll help you make those reforms a reality. Many of you and your states already have, and that’s why we’re expanding Race to the Top.
I also want to commend all of you for acting collectively through the National Governors’ Association to develop common academic standards that will better position our students for success. Many states have already positioned themselves to adopt higher standards; and today, I’m announcing steps to encourage and support all states to transition to college and career-ready standards on behalf of America’s students.
Of course, lifting achievement and transforming our schools will require more than new standards – it will require better teaching, better curricula, and better assessments. So we’re calling for a redesigned Elementary and Secondary Education Act that better aligns the federal approach to your state-led efforts while offering you the support you need.
First, as a condition of receiving access to Title I funds, we will ask all states to put in place a plan to adopt and certify standards that are college and career-ready in reading and math. Once you have those standards in place, you’ll be able to better compete for funds to improve teaching and upgrade curricula. If a university, state, or school district begins preparing educators to teach to higher standards, we’ll give them the support they need. And to make sure we’re delivering for our kids, we’re launching a competition to reward states that join together to develop the highest-quality, cutting-edge assessments required to measure progress; and we’ll help support their implementation.
This goes hand-in-hand with all our efforts to give every American a complete and competitive education. We’re making college more affordable by increasing Pell Grants, continuing a new $2,500 tax credit for four years of college tuition, and easing graduates’ debt burden, because no one should go broke because they choose to go to college. We’ve provided the resources to effectively implement the Post-9/11 GI Bill, because every returning soldier should have the chance to begin a new life prepared for the new economy. We’re strengthening our community colleges, because they’re career pathways for the children of so many working families. And we’re working to reform the student loan program and save tens of billions of dollars that go to subsidizing banks; because that money would be better spent educating the next generation.
If we can come together to do all this – in Washington; in state houses; across party and ideology – we’ll raise the quality of American education; we’ll give our students, workers, and businesses every chance to succeed; and we will secure this century as the next American century.
We’ve been trusted with the responsibility to lead at this defining moment in our history. We’ve been tasked to not only see this country through difficult times, but keep the dream of our founding alive for the next generation. That’s not something to shy away from. It’s something to live up to. I intend to work closely with all of you – Democrat or Republican – to do just that.
