Goals 2000: Educate America Act, a bipartisan bill, was signed into law on March 31, 1994. The U.S. federal government pledged to form a new and supportive partnership with states and communities in an effort to improve student academic achievement across the nation. Goals 2000 was a direct outgrowth of the state-led education reform movement of the 1980s. The 1989 Charlottesville Education Summit, convened by then President George H. W. Bush and the nation's governors and led by then-Governor Bill Clinton, further underscored the need for a national response to address educational needs by establishing the following national education goals to be achieved by the year 2000:

• All children in America will start school ready to learn.
• The high school graduation rate will increase to at least ...