Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the National Education Goals Panel Report

This year's report of the National Education Goals Panel shows we have made strides in increasing the high school completion rate of our youth and in eradicating drug use in schools. These positive results are the most compelling evidence of the effectiveness of the reform policies we have pursued over the past 3 years.

The President called the Nation's Governors together in 1990 for an education summit in Charlottesville, Virginia, where the participants set a strategic vision to improve American education by concentrating their efforts on reaching six national education goals. The National Education Goals Panel is charting the progress toward achieving these goals.

The President today recognizes those who have embraced the goals and who are working to establish rigorous national standards for what American children should know and be able to achieve. Continued support for this initiative and for the President's efforts to establish a voluntary system of achievement tests tied to world class standards will ensure that all citizens are able to live, work, and compete in an international marketplace.