Bill Clinton: “As the Senator points out, I have been involved in improving education and reforming our accountability measures since…”

“As the Senator points out, I have been involved in improving education and reforming our accountability measures since 1983, when ``A Nation At Risk'' was first issued by then-President Reagan's Commission on Education. I was one of the first in our country to ask for much stricter accountability, to test not only students but also teachers, and to hold schools to a very high standard. If they did not succeed in passing 85 percent of their children beyond a level of acceptable learning outcomes, the school would be in danger of being taken over. That was 18 years ago. So there is really nothing new in what we are discussing today, as the Senator from Nevada knows so well. We want to do the best job we can in raising standards; yes, we do. That is something many of us have worked on, and we have actually seen some positive results in some of our schools over the last 18 years. But we know there have to be the kind of conditions in learning circumstances in our classes, in our schools, that will enable these accountability measures to be successful.”