Margaret Spellings, US secretary of education, is stepping up efforts to garner support among US business leaders for the No Child Left Behind Act, a series of education reforms that she said is “urgent and essential” to the future of America’s ability to remain competitive.

Her overtures come on the heels of new nationwide test results that show America’s public school students are doing significantly better in maths since NCLB took effect in 2002, but that reading achievement has not shown similar gains.