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Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am pleased to have this opportunity to appear on behalf of Secretary Riley-who is traveling with the President today-to discuss the importance of the Federal investment in education.
President Clinton made it very clear in his State of the Union address last evening that education continues to be one of the highest priorities of his Administration. The President's commitment to education will be reinforced tomorrow when the full details of his 1998 budget are released. Several key proposals have already been made public, however, and I believe a brief discussion of these proposals will give the Committee a good idea of the direction we want to go in education.
The President's short argument for expanding Federal education support is compelling: we want to make sure every 8-year-old can read, every 12-year-old can use a computer to learn, and every 18-year-old who works hard has the opportunity to pursue a college education.
When it comes to success in school, reading independently by the end of the third grade makes all the difference. A child that learns to read by the fourth grade is prepared to use his or her reading skills to learn history, literature, social studies, and science in the later grades. A child that doesn't learn to read well by the fourth grade is more likely to drop out and risks a lifetime of diminished success in school and employment. That is why President Clinton launched the America Reads Challenge. And that is why the President is proposing a national reading test for fourth graders-to assess the progress of all students toward the goal of reading independently.
The America Reads initiative would enlist and train one million tutors who would provide assistance after school, on weekends, and during the summer for K-4 students who are behind in reading. The results of America Reads would be measured by the Nation al Assessment of Educational Progress, with the goal of significantly increasing the percentage of children-currently just 60 percent-who can read at the "Basic" level by the time they are in fourth grade.
I want to emphasize here that the assistance offered through the America Reads Challenge would be over and above the reading instruction provided in the regular classroom. We will continue to support schools through existing programs, such as TitleI, that reinforce in-class reading instruction, and the 1998 budget will increase funding for these programs.
President Clinton's commitment to making sure every child can read independently by the end of the third grade reflects his continuing emphasis on creating high expectations for all students in terms of academic achievement. The Goals 2000 program, for example, encourages States and communities to set high standards, develop assessments of student performance linked to those standards, and prepare teachers to teach to high standards. In 1998, we are asking for $620million to expand Goals 2000 assistance to an estimated 16,000 schools, an increase of one-third over the 1997 level.
Any lingering doubts about the need for the kind of support provided by Goals 2000 were laid to rest by the recently announced results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS. This study showed that differences in academic performance are linked primarily to what is taught and how it is taught. More specifically, TIMSS showed that higher-level academic content-taught by teachers with a deep understanding of that content and how to teach it-leads to improved student performance.
For example, math topics taught to American eighth-graders are taught at the seventh grade in many other countries, and teachers in countries such as Japan receive more hands-on training and daily support for quality teaching. TIMSS highlighted the importance of setting tough standards in mathematics, such as those proposed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and of making sure teachers are prepared to teach to those standards.
The findings of TIMSS reinforced other research and development carried out in the United States over the past 20 years. Cognitive science and careful school improvement efforts, such as "Success for All" and "Project Equity," make it clear that all children can learn to far higher standards than we currently ask of them. Common sense and thoughtful studies tell us that the content of the curriculum is important-surely students will not learn conditional probability or algebra unless they are taught it..
We also know from research that the way you teach matters-a point underscored by TIMSS. Finally, we know that schools need to be safe and disciplined places in order for children to learn. My point here is that we do not lack the knowledge to improve our schools-we often lack the will and some of the resources, and that's where the Department of Education can help. Schools and teachers in every State now look to Federal programs like Goals2000, TitleI, Eisenhower Professional Development, and Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities for assistance in improving the quality of teaching and learning.
We also believe that principals and teachers need the flexibility to be innovative in their efforts to raise student performance. This is why the President and Congress put waiver authority into our elementary and secondary education legislation, and why we have reduced regulations in this area by over 75percent in the past three years.
It is also why the President is asking Congress to nearly double funding for Charter Schools to $100million in 1998. This level would support planning and start-up costs for up to 1,100 schools that increase student and family choice among public schools. Charter schools are created by teachers, parents, and other community members and are exempted from many regulations in exchange for greater accountability for improving student achievement. The Administration's goal is to stimulate the creation of 3,000 charter schools over the next five years.
To help bring American classrooms into the 21st century and ensure that all students are computer literate, we are proposing significant increases for educational technology programs. The President's budget would nearly double Department of Education spending on the two major technology programs, from $257million in 1997 to $500million in 1998. Most of these funds would flow directly to States to help integrate technology into the classroom and improve instruction in core academic subjects. In particular, the $425million Technology Literacy Challenge Fund would help States and communities purchase computers, wire classrooms to the information superhighway, develop effective educational software, and train teachers to make effective use of educational technology.
Here again, we have research documenting the potential benefits of educational technology. Research has shown that technology helps students to master both basic skills and the challenging curriculum demanded as we move into the 21st century. Our data also show, however, that access to technology remains limited, particularly in communities where students need help the most.
That's why the President's Educational Technology Initiative calls for connecting "every classroom and every library in the entire United States by the year 2000." To help make this happen, State applications for funding under the Technology Literacy Challenge must include plans explaining how the State will assist poorer districts with the greatest need for educational technology.
In addition, we are working with the Federal Communications Commission to establish an "E-Rate," or "education rate" that would offer at least a 50-percent discount on telecommunications services to nearly 70 percent of all schools, with discounts of up to 90 percent to schools with the largest numbers of poor children.
Schools also would be able to finance the renovation of facilities needed to take advantage of educational technology through the new School Construction program. This program, which would be funded by a one-time $5billion mandatory appropriation, would pay for up to one-half the interest costs on school construction bonds or similar financing mechanisms. In addition to technology upgrades, schools could obtain financing through this program to make emergency repairs to correct health and safety problems, to improve energy efficiency, to ensure access for individuals with disabilities, and to build new schools needed to accommodate growing enrollments.
The General Accounting Office has estimated that one-third of schools need either extensive repairs or total replacement. The School Construction initiative would leverage $20billion over the next four years to jump-start State and local efforts in this area.
The School Construction initiative is even more critical when you consider that the GAO report looked only at existing schools and did not take into account the growing demand for new schools created by booming elementary and secondary enrollments. The Department estimates that simply to keep up with enrollment levels, the Nation will have to build 6,000 additional schools by 2006.
President Clinton believes that one of the best ways to motivate improved student performance is by raising educational expectations. In other words, every student who works hard should know that he or she has the opportunity to go to college, regardless of financial circumstances. The President's 1998 budget request includes three postsecondary proposals that would take the Nation a long way toward this goal.
The first proposal is to raise the maximum Pell Grant award from $2,700 to $3,000. The Pell Grant program is the foundation of student aid for lower-income students and their families. Increasing the maximum award would help Pell Grants keep pace with rising postsecondary education costs while providing grant assistance to an additional 130,000 students and families. We also would change the need-analysis formula to provide more equitable treatment of certain independent students, a proposal that would make an estimated 218,000 additional independent students eligible for Pell Grants.
The second postsecondary initiative-America's HOPE Scholarships-is intended to make two years of postsecondary education as universal tomorrow as a high school diploma is today. HOPE Scholarships would provide a nonrefundable income tax credit of up to $1,500 per student for tuition and fee expenses during the first two years of postsecondary education. All students enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program would qualify for the credit in the first year, while only those students who maintained at least a "B-" in their first year would qualify for the tax credit in their second-year. The Department of Treasury estimates that 4.2million students would qualify for HOPE Scholarships in 1998, and that the proposal would save families $18.6 billion from 1997 to 2002.
I know that some have raised concerns that HOPE Scholarships could lead to two kinds of inflation-in tuition costs and student grades. We are very aware of these concerns, but believe that they are overstated. College professors already face pressure to raise grades-for example, from students seeking admission to a top graduate or professional school. We do not believe that the HOPE Scholarship grade requirement, which affects only second-year, middle-income students, will create undue pressure on professors.
As for potential tuition inflation, this is a concern with any student financial aid program. However, there is little evidence over the past three decades of a relationship between Federal student aid and college tuition levels. In addition, fees at community colleges-which would likely be the biggest beneficiaries of Hope Scholarships-are heavily influenced by students who are taking just one course at a time and are thus ineligible for the tax credit.
The third major higher education proposal is a tax deduction for postsecondary education tuition and fees for students who choose not to use or who do not qualify for the Hope Scholarship tax credit. The maximum deduction would be $5,000 during a two-year phase-in period, rising to $10,000 in 1999 and subsequent years. The deduction would be available even if the taxpayer does not itemize other deductions, and would benefit an estimated 8.1million students in 1998. Families would save an estimated $17.6billion through 2002.
I would make one final point about HOPE Scholarships and the tax deduction: these are lifetime benefits intended to help students of all ages pay for the lifelong learning required for success in our rapidly changing, technology-based economy.
These are just a few of the significant education proposals in the President's 1998 budget. I urge the Members of the Committee to take a close look at the entire Department of Education budget after it is released tomorrow. The Department's budget reflects the best research about what works in education. It will help ensure that all kids learn to read. It will help schools in every State implement improvements based on high standards. It will help States and schools gear up for the 21st century by bringing technology into the classroom. And it will help give every American the chance to go to college. The Administration wants to work with Congress to make all of these things happen, for the benefit of the entire Nation.
I would be happy to take any questions you may have about the proposals discussed in my testimony.
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