We started to change the system here in Washington with the No Child Left Behind Act. I understand that it's created some consternation. And it's created consternation because, in return for increased federal spending, we finally started asking the question, can you read and write and add and subtract? It's never seemed to me — For some, that's called an unfunded mandate. To me, that's called a necessary mandate — to make sure our children can learn.

We must continue the work of education reform, to bring high standards and accountability not just to our elementary and secondary schools, but to our high schools, as well.

When I came into public office too many republic schools were passing children, grade to grade, year after year, without learning the basics.

Even though we didn't find the stockpiles we affected — to find, Saddam Hussein had the capability of making weapons.

4TH GRADE TEACHER: What can you do for our children in public education, private education, that will make a difference in America today?
DUBYA: Here's what we're going to do. We're going to continue to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations, is what we're going to do.

DUBYA: Don't get me wrong. Don't get me wrong. You said, against affirmative action, is what you said. You put words in my mouth. What I am for is —
MARTIN: I just read the speech, Mr. President.
DUBYA: What speech?
MARTIN: In terms of when you came out against the Michigan affirmative action policy, and —
DUBYA: No, I said was against quotas.
MARTIN: So you support affirmative action, but not quotas.
DUBYA: I support colleges affirmatively taking action to get more minorities in their school.

I mean, if you've ever been a governor of a state, you understand the vast potential of broadband technology, you understand how hard it is to make sure that physics, for example, is taught in every classroom in the state. It's difficult to do. It's, like, cost-prohibitive.

For example, if a school — a child is trapped in a school for several years that is — that's not meeting standards, the federal government will pay for after-school tutoring, and the parent can choose all kind of tutoring options, whether they be public or private. One parent — a parent can send the school — a child to a different public school. In other words, when — there has to be accountability in order for a — I mean, there has to be a consequence in order for an accountability system to work.

If you're worried about the quality of the education in which you — in the community in which you live, you're responsible for doing something about it. Just don't hope for some magic response from a faraway government.

You wanna be, uhh, blunt about what has taken place, sometimes when you don't measure, you just shuffle kids through. Then you wake up at the high school level and find out that the illiter — literacy level of our children are appalling.