The president is correct and challenged governors to "prepare the lowest income children to meet the highest standards of success." The Sunshine State is a shining example. Ten years ago Florida ranked near the bottom on almost every national education measure. Today, the average Florida Hispanic student's fourth-grade reading score on the Nation's Report Card -- a test conducted in English -- is now higher than the overall scores of all fourth-graders in 15 states, including California. Low-income, Hispanic fourth-graders also outscore all fourth-graders in California and many of those states. African-American fourth-graders in the Sunshine State also score higher than average for all students in Louisiana and Mississippi, and a single point now separates them from all California fourth graders. Tax credits-promoted by the president to overcome housing barriers-also overcome education barriers and were a key to Florida's turnaround. Tax-credit scholarships help students in failing schools escape to better schools, and nearly two-thirds of Florida's scholarships are awarded to African American and Hispanic students. And, for every dollar spent, Florida gets $1.49 back-an astounding 49 percent return on investment. The best ROI, of course, are changed lives, and isn't that what the Obama Administration claims to be about?

(This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California)

This post originally appeared in Independent Women's Forum.