Rarely was the question asked: Can you read? Or can you write? Or can you add and can you subtract?

Over the past seven years we have worked to strengthen the public school system. In other words, we haven't given up on public schools; quite the contrary, we've tried to help them succeed by passing the No Child Left Behind Act. In some circles it's controversial. I don't think it should be controversial, however, to demand high standards for every child. I don't think it should be controversial to insist upon accountability to see if those children are meeting those standards. And I don't think it should be viewed as controversial to say to a public school, if children are falling behind, here's supplementary services to help that individual child catch up.

DUBYA: Every good school — every school that succeeds — by the way, it's a Blue Ribbon School. So I asked Margaret — like, I remember coming up, everybody was a blue ribbon school. I don't know if you remember those days. It was kind of a feel-good era. Just say, okay, you're a blue ribbon school, and everybody feels better about education. There's less than 300 Blue Ribbon schools across America this year. I think — what did you say, thirteen —
EDUCATION SECRETARY MARGARET SPELLINGS: Two hundred and thirty nine public.
DUBYA: Two hundred thirty nine public schools are Blue Ribbon Schools, and maybe a dozen here in the state of Illinois.