Arrow indicates change in status since evaluation on September 30, 2004.

DOD is well positioned to make significant advancements in real property management. The Department's Asset Management Plan incorporates best practice solutions that assist DOD managers in making capital investment decisions that help advance mission critical objectives. The Department has employed effective controls to maintain low improper payment rates in the military retirement and health programs. DOD is also taking aggressive steps to address improper payments to contractors, recovering $86.3 million of such payments in 2003. (Because this is the first quarter that agency efforts in the Eliminating Improper Payments Initiative were rated, progress scores were not given.) The Department has privatized 74,153 housing units and is on track to eliminate all inadequate housing units by 2007. The 2006 Budget supports the elimination of all inadequate housing in the continental United States by 2007. DOD is making significant progress this year in privatizing military housing, thereby achieving Green for status and progress.

• Creating a new high school initiative to extend No Child Left Behind (NCLB) into the upper grades through improved accountability and effective interventions to help at-risk youth complete high school successfully, and through testing in grades 9-11.

• Providing grants to improve education in low-income communities and support NCLB reforms. Supporting reforms in special education to improve services for students with disabilities.

Making Government More Effective

• Reforming the student loan programs by reducing unnecessary subsidies to lenders and other financial intermediaries, and redirecting these funds to the Pell Grant program to help lowincome students pay for college.

PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND OWNERSHIP

Building a Strong Foundation: Leaving No Child Behind

At the center of the President's commitment to education is his promise to "leave no child behind.” When President Bush launched his No Child Left Behind initiative, he said, "The Federal role in education is not to serve the system. It is to serve the children." No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is making a difference for every child, in every public school. It is no longer acceptable for any child to slip through the cracks or fail to receive the challenging education he or she deserves. Schools are held accountable for ensuring that all children, including those who are disadvantaged or disabled, become proficient in reading and math. Parents receive detailed information about the performance of their schools. Students who attend low-performing schools have the option to attend a better public school or, if their schools do not improve, to receive tutoring funded by the school district. And all this is guided by a commitment to support practices that rigorous research shows to be effective.

It is far too soon to know the full impact of NCLB as school districts have set ambitious goals for ensuring that all children are proficient in reading and math by 2014. Nonetheless, there are early signs of success. An October 2004 report by the Education Trust analyzed student achievement data from the 24 States that had three years of comparable test scores. It found that in 23 of them, overall achievement had improved. States are making gains in closing the achievement gap between students from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers from more advantaged backgrounds, while also improving achievement generally. The majority of the 24 States analyzed reported a narrowing of the achievement gap between African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans and their white peers in both reading and math. Compared to a year ago, the percentage of schools meeting their student performance targets on State assessments has increased significantly in several States.

Student Achievement Results for States That Have at Least Three Years of Data
Disaggregated by Race and Ethnicity

The 2006 Budget continues the President's support for the major components of NCLB, on top of the dramatic funding increases for key K-12 programs since 2001. While education remains principally the responsibility of the States, the Federal Government will continue its aggressive leadership in the education of America's children.

Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies. Title I provides funds to schools in low-income communities and is the foundation for the NCLB accountability, school improvement, and parental choice reforms. The Budget requests $13.3 billion for Title I, a $603 million, or 4.7-percent increase over the 2005 level, and a 52-percent increase since 2001, to help schools implement the No Child Left Behind Act.

Reading First and Early Reading First. The Budget includes $1.1 billion for the President's signature literacy programs to help students in preschool and elementary school improve their reading skills. Reading First supports high-quality, scientifically proven reading practices in grades K-3 to ensure that all children can read at grade level by third grade. The Budget proposes $1.0 billion, fulfilling the President's commitment to provide $5 billion for reading over five years. The Budget includes $104 million for Early Reading First to develop model childhood literacy and pre-reading programs for schools serving high-poverty communities.

State Assessments. The Budget provides $412 million to help States implement current NCLB testing requirements. This includes $400 million for formula grants to States and $12 million for competitive grants to help States tackle some of the most difficult testing issues including assessments for special populations.

Beating the Odds

Students in schools in large cities often face the most difficult odds and need the most help to reach academic excellence.

When President Bush first took office, two-thirds of inner-city fourth graders could not read at a basic level. The most recent Council of Great City Schools' report, "Beating the Odds IV," showed that many schools in large cities are meeting the challenge and have made important gains in reading and math scores on 2003 State assessments. In addition, achievement gaps may be narrowing between urban areas and the population as a whole, between African Americans and whites, and between Hispanics and whites. Findings show that:

• 84.6 percent of all grades included in the Great City Schools report showed gains in math scores. • 72.1 percent of all grades tested showed gains in reading scores.

• In 73.1 percent of fourth grades tested, the gap in reading scores between whites and African American students narrowed.

• In 60.0 percent of fourth grades tested the gap in reading scores narrowed between whites and Hispanics.

Districts in the Council of Great City Schools enroll 15 percent of the Nation's public school students and 30 percent of the Nation's African American, Hispanic, limited English proficient, and poor students.

Source. http://www.cgcs.org/reports/beat_the_odds/V.html.

Teachers. Recognizing that well-trained, highly qualified teachers are critical to student learning, the Budget provides $500 million in funding for the President's new Teacher Incentive Fund. This program would reward teachers and schools making great progress in closing the achievement gap between students of different socio-economic backgrounds, recruit the most effective teachers to teach in high-need schools, and provide support for school districts to link teacher compensation more closely to growth in student achievement. The Budget also provides $2.9 billion for the Teacher Quality State Grants program to support teacher training and recruitment. In addition, $40 million is requested for the Adjunct Teacher Corps initiative to create opportunities for professionals with