Thank you, Commissioner Carr, and Department of Education colleagues. Here's the bottom line. At an extremely tough time in education, the United States moved up in the world rankings in reading, math, and science – all three categories PISA measures – while, unfortunately, many other countries saw declines.
Today's results are further proof that President Biden's bold investments, backed by tireless efforts at the Department of Education to support student success and academic recovery, kept the United States in the game. . If President Biden hadn't fought for the single largest investment in education in our nation's history – and delivered it in the form of the American Rescue Plan – we'd be in the same boat as other countries, who didn't make those investments, and saw their rankings fall.
President Biden believes that investing in public education is investing in the nation's future. . These results also show that we can't be satisfied with the status quo in education. There's much work to be done – and we need all hands on deck to accelerate academic success.
We need to see higher-level math in every school in this country and that's why our Raise the Bar: Lead the World plan at the Department of Education emphasizes math instruction so much. . It also emphasizes ensuring we have a highly qualified educator workforce that receives professional learning on math instruction.Also, in September, our Institute of Education Sciences convened a three-day virtual Mathematics Summit, with more than 2,000 people from across the country, which focused on identifying strategies for closing gaps and accelerating mathematics learning to differentiating instruction for diverse learners and more.And tomorrow, the Administration will announce nearly $90 million in new awards in STEM education, to speed up adoption of effective instructional strategies in STEM.
Let's remember: this is the United States of America. We have the potential to lead the world in education and the strength to make sure _every_ student benefits from a quality education in this country. And we shouldn't aim for anything less. In the United States, we have what it takes to be #1 in PISA. . So today, we need to fight complacency with the same urgency with which we fought COVID, not only to secure academic recovery for the present, but academic excellence for the future. .
We need to Raise the Bar for education in America. . In the coming weeks, I'll be reaching out to state and local leaders in education to discuss the actions they're taking to raise the bar and accelerate academic success – and how we at the federal level can support them. We're asking these leaders to take specific and measurable actions that are proven to accelerate outcomes, alongside a focus on strong core instruction, a highly qualified and supported educator workforce, and evidence-based strategies like extended learning time, high-quality tutoring, smart use of data, efforts to bolster school attendance and engagement, and investing in mental health and well-being. These are the things I keep hearing about when I speak to parents, educators, and students themselves Additionally, we're looking to drive intentional partnerships between these state and local leaders and key stakeholders like philanthropy and other funders, concentrating our efforts on the students and districts with the greatest needs It's why our Raise the Bar: Lead the World agenda focuses not only on academic excellence, but boldly improving learning conditions, and strengthening college and career pathways for students. As a lifelong educator: we know what our students need to be successful. And we're working to support states and districts to get that done It's not a time to defund public education – which is what so many of our colleagues in Congress are talking about on the Republican side They've proposed gutting education funding for our students and limiting educators' abilities to address student mental health issues and prevent violence, suicide, and drug abuse by cutting funding for our schools It's clear that President Biden has a different approach: keeping a laser focus on the fundamentals of academic success, fighting to ensure students across the country have the resources they need to learn and succeed, and looking at our public schools as an investment in our nation's continuous growth If we step up and work together, I know we can and we will achieve the academic excellence that will position our nation to lead the world in education for years to come. .