While I do commend the Administration on its commitment and focus on high school reform, I believe that we must focus on graduation as the key accountability measure.

Today's population of adolescents and young adults is the largest in our nation's history.

One of the most important improvements in the No Child Left Behind Act for migrant students was the requirement for electronic transfer of migrant student records.

It is incumbent upon all of us to build communities with the educational opportunities and support systems in place to help our youth become successful adults.

The people of South and Central Texas and the Coastal Bend need jobs, they need health care, they need water infrastructure improvements, they need a quality education, and they need the resources to keep our borders safe and secure.

Currently, only 70 percent of our high school students earn diplomas with their peers, and less than one-third of our high school students graduate prepared for success in a four-year college.

There has been a growing consensus across the country - from statehouses to the White House and the halls of Congress - that we need to take dramatic steps to improve our secondary schools.