On July 5th, Secretary Paige and his staff in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education issued new federal regulations that implement recent changes to the standards and assessment provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. As required by law, these regulations were drafted after a negotiated rulemaking process that was held in March of this year. The negotiating committee was comprised of parents, teachers, members of the public, school board members, and state and local education administrators.

During the rulemaking process, the secretary received advice and recommendations from 140 interested parties. The final regulations include an analysis of these comments and of the resulting changes to the regulations.

The final regulations are published in the Federal Register and can be found at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.

The first step toward creating a strong school accountability system is setting the bar for academic achievement. Under existing law, states are required to develop academic content standards for what every child should know and learn in reading and math. Many states already have rigorous academic standards in place. Once the standards are set, then the curriculum—the lessons and materials used in the classroom—can be aligned with those standards.

Under No Child Left Behind, the success of the public schools will be measured by how well students are progressing toward and meeting the standards. Specifically, student progress will be measured in grades 3 through 8 by annual, statewide assessments aligned with the state standards. Testing annually is important because the results provide an independent measure of how much progress students have made toward meeting the academic content standards.

The assessment requirements under No Child Left Behind hold schools accountable for the achievement of all students. Test results show principals how much progress each teacher's students have made, so they can make good decisions about program selection, curriculum, and professional development. Test results give parents information about the academic progress of their children and the quality of their children's schools. The results also help policymakers and state and local leaders by providing critical information about which schools and school districts are succeeding and why.

Tip For Parents Are your children spending too many hours watching TV and playing video games? Help your children succeed during the school year by encouraging them to read during the summer months. According to studies compiled by the Colorado State Library: Reading gets better when you practice it. Children lose school-year reading gains over the summer if they don't read. Children who attended a summer library program read better than those in a summer camp program. Children in a summer library program are more likely to read at their grade level or above than their non-participating peers. Children in a summer program who visited the library and did free reading made more reading test gains than those in a traditional language arts summer program. Most local libraries offer summer reading programs. Contact your local library for more information. http://www.cde.state.co.us/ctbl/download/pdf/summer_reading_program.pdf

The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, along with its strategic partners, has created www.YesICan.gov (www.YoSiPuedo.gov), an interactive, bilingual website aimed at building awareness among parents and students. Some of the resources available on the site include, Myths and Facts about College Costs and Twenty Things You Need to Know About Paying for College. The site also includes a section especially designed for children. The fun and colorful "Kid's Zone" can be found at: www.YesICanKids.gov.

For more information, contact the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans at:

[email protected]

On July 8th in Louisville, Ky., Secretary Paige addressed the national meeting of the National Federation of the Blind, continuing his efforts to build awareness of No Child Left Behind and to rally Americans to help implement this new law.

"Our president believes there are no limits to what can be achieved when all Americans have the opportunity to learn, live independently, and pursue their dreams," Paige said.

On July 9th in Orlando, Fla., Secretary Paige enlisted the support of the 8,500 members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority to join his partnership to leave no child behind. "We need more doers like each of you—taking the initiative and making a difference in the lives of others," Paige said. "And I'm proud and honored that one of the ways you've chosen to make a difference is by partnering with the Department of Education to help meet the president's goal for every child to be educated, with no child left behind. We have a lot of work to do."

Earlier this year, Secretary Paige joined Dr. Dorothy Height, the chair and president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), to announce the new Partnership for Academic Achievement to close the achievement gap between African-American youngsters and their peers.

As part of the partnership, Paige announced that he will host a Secretary's Reading Leadership Academy for the members of the NCNW, to help them understand the best way to help children learn to read—and what the research shows about how children learn to read—so the members of the council can help children in this critical skill.

On July 12th, the Secretary made the 14th stop on his tour in Denver, Colorado at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, to focus on E-Learning.

Secretary Paige kicked off his tour in Albuquerque, N.M., in April 2002 to inform parents, educators, community and business leaders and other stakeholders about the most sweeping change in education policy in three decades—and to ask for their help in strengthening our schools and leaving no child behind.

To read more about these stops on the "Tour Across America," please visit: http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/media/news/index.html