Facing her final months in office, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today called for additional accountability in education, setting forth five measures she said would - along with No Child Left Behind - help the nation determine whether it's achieving educational success. During her remarks at the Aspen Institute Summit, she said:

For years, we've measured our economy with the Leading Economic Indicators. So what are the Leading Education Indicators? Do kids know how to read and do math? Are minority students lagging behind their classmates? Are kids graduating from high school on time? Are they prepared for college work? And have they earned a degree? 

The country has seen improvement in these areas since 2000, Spellings said, but more work remains. "And the American people need to know it." (Even if NCLB can't get reauthorized and the very term has truly negative brand recognition - sort of like FCAT, right?)

Spellings also gave an interview on No Child Left Behind to the Associated Press. See the story here.