{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2004-12-08-pt1-PgS12024", "2004-12-08", 108, 2, null, null, "EDUCATION", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S12024", "S12025", "[{\"name\": \"William H. Frist\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "150 Cong. Rec. S12024", "Congressional Record, Volume 150 Issue 139 (Wednesday, December 8, 2004)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 139 (Wednesday, December 8, 2004)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S12024-S12025]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                               EDUCATION\n\n  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will take this opportunity, while we are\nwaiting for paperwork, to follow up on something I just mentioned; and\nit is on the subject of education. It has to do with an announcement\nthat most of us saw in the newspaper a couple days ago. The report came\nout last week. It is this: The United States, when you compare us to 28\nother industrialized countries, and you look at math literacy for 15-\nyear-olds, you would guess that we might be at the top. No. You would\nguess we might be No. 5. No. You would say: Well, the United States of\nAmerica, we have to be No. 10. No. You would say, we have to be 15th\nout of those 29 when you compare us to other countries. The answer is\nno. Well, then you may say: Out of 29 countries surely we are 20th,\nbeing the most powerful Nation in the world and the most affluent\nNation in the world. And the answer is no.\n  Out of 29 industrialized countries, for 15-year-olds--my youngest son\nis 17 years old, so he is 2 years older--we are 24th. I did not believe\nit when I first saw it, and I called my statistician friends, and they\nsaid: Yes, it is true. In fact, everybody agrees it is true. In its\nmost recent round of testing, the Program for International Student\nAssessment finds that the United States falls behind--again, we are\n24th out of 29--such countries as Finland, Korea, Canada, the Czech\nRepublic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Spain, and, yes,\nFrance.\n  Even more depressing than that, these dismal results are consistent\nwith all the international comparisons. It is not just this one study,\nbut it is consistent with all other international studies. American\nstudents lag far behind their industrialized counterparts in math,\nreading, and in science across the board. Contrary to the clamor of the\neducation lobby, it is not money. We are spending the money. We are\nspending more money than any other country on education. In fact, we\nspend 30 to 80 percent more per pupil than any other industrialized\nnation.\n  Since 1960, the U.S. has spent nearly a trillion dollars on K-12\npublic education. The result, according to the report, current U.S.\nmath scores fall below Latvia. Then we look to the future. We know, as\nwe look to the future, it is going to be based on the information\nfoundation of our economy today. And if we are going to be competitive,\nit is clear we are going to have to start, because if it is true for\nthe eighth grade, it is true for the 15-year-olds, it is true for the\ntwelfth grade. In all of these we are failing.\n  If we look to the future, when we talk about outsourcing jobs, when\nwe talk about global competitiveness and our efficiency, none of that\nmatters very much unless we have appropriate training and education for\nour young people today who are the workforce of tomorrow. It is an\neconomic reality, and we are failing.\n  Although we just got through the campaign season, we are looking\nahead. Fortunately, President Bush said 4 years ago: My No. 1 priority\nis going to be education. Sure enough, working in a bipartisan way in\nthis body, we passed a huge reform, No Child Left Behind. This\nRepublican-led Congress, the President of the United States were\nabsolutely committed to saying: The status quo is unsatisfactory. We\nbelieved that every single child has that right to learn. And it is our\nobligation, our responsibility--a lot of people say: No, it is not a\nFederal responsibility, it is everybody's responsibility--to support\nthe reforms that help meet that goal of giving every child that\nopportunity to and the right to learn.\n  Three years ago we passed No Child Left Behind. It was landmark\nlegislation. For the first time it holds America's public schools\naccountable for results. Students in grades 3 to 8 are now tested every\nyear on basic reading and math skills. We have to be able to measure\nprogress over time. Otherwise we will not know whether what we are\ndoing in terms of getting better teachers, giving teachers better\nsupplies and a better opportunity to teach, we are not going to know\nwhether anything works unless we can measure--and the measurement is\nunder way--and to get parents involved.\n  Now we are able, by holding both the schools and parents accountable.\nThey are going to get more involved and they are more involved today.\nWe have given them specific tools to be able to measure their own\nchild's progress and their own child's school and, if necessary, to use\npublic funds to secure additional tutoring, public funds that weren't\nthere before, but to use those public funds if you need that additional\ntutoring.\n  We introduced that whole concept that if the school is failing, thus\nyour child is going to fail; if the whole school is failing, to give\nthat opportunity to maybe send your child, if that school is failing,\nto a better school. Maybe it is a school down the road. That is just 3\nyears ago. In 3 short years, these straightforward\naccountability measures are getting results.\n\n  According to a March study by the Council of Great Schools, the\nachievement gap in both math and reading between African Americans and\nWhites and Hispanics and Whites is getting narrower in both categories.\nThe National Assessment of Education Progress reports that since 2000,\nmath scores have increased nine points among fourth graders and five\npoints among eighth graders. Math scores for low-income fourth graders\nhave improved even more dramatically, showing a 14-point gain. Simply\nby raising those education standards, public schools are striving to\nreach them and are making progress.\n  The nonpartisan, Denver-based Education Commission of the States\nfinds that not since the 1970s have States been so responsive to\nFederal education reform. One might say better\n\n[[Page S12025]]\n\nlate than never, but that would fail to give proper credit where it is\ndue. The President deserves great praise for his determination to put\nAmerica's public schools back on track. After three decades of stalled\nprogress, we are turning finally to fact-based scientific solutions so\nthat all of America's children can learn and will learn.\n  There is a lot more to do. And as with our intelligence reform bill\ntoday, this is not the end. This is a start. We are going to continue\nto have appropriate reforms, strengthening programs that we act on here\nin this body.\n  In the next Congress, when it comes to education, we will do more to\nstrengthen our schools and our school systems so every child has that\nopportunity to learn. As the President has set out, since we have\nalready focused on K-12, we will begin to look at the college level and\nfurther at that secondary school level. We are committed to expanding\nopportunities for every American to acquire the education and skills\nthey need to compete and succeed in an ever expanding and dynamic\neconomy.\n  Our Founding Fathers, who are cited so frequently and appropriately\non this floor, believed deeply that a successful democracy and a viable\ndemocracy requires an educated and engaged citizenry. I am confident\nthat by adhering to high standards of achievement and accountability,\nwe will produce an education system worthy of their great hopes.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2004-12-08-pt1-PgS12024"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.38782390765845776, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}