Former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings gave a speech at the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club last week and -- no surprise here -- she is still defending No Child Left Behind. According to this Naples Daily News story, she told a luncheon crowd of 300 people that:
....the No Child Left Behind Act passed under the former administration has done what it promised in narrowing the achievement gap between white and minority students, but said much remains to be done. She stopped short of saying the measures by the current administration would help the country go the extra mile, but sounded a note of hope about the initial steps.No Child Left Behind, enacted eight years ago Friday, helped slim the achievement gap between white and minority students, and more students have become proficient in reading and math, Spellings said.
???????Much of the progress has been in elementary schools and middle schools, because that is where it was designed to have an impact,??????? she said. ???????In high school there is still much to do.
Spellings said she's bolstered by President Obama and Secretary Duncan's efforts on education reform but stopped short of offering praise. ???????Despite some of our many differences, I'm really pulling for them. ... I'm not going to get overly excited yet, because as we Texans say, ???????I've been to this rodeo before, '" she said.