WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- President Barack Obama on Saturday said he would send to Congress next week the outline of an education plan to revamp President Bush's No Child Left Behind law.

The White House had previously stated its intention to remove certain accountability standards under the Bush law and work with Congress on rewriting sections of it. Saturday, the president said he would send a blueprint to Congress on Monday that would provide states and school districts resources to boost elementary and secondary education.

"What this plan recognizes is that while the federal government can play a leading role in encouraging the reforms and high standards we need, the impetus for that change will come from states, and from local schools and school districts," Obama said during his weekly radio address. " So, yes, we set a high bar--but we also provide educators the flexibility to reach it."

Obama said the the country has previously failed to "make inroads in reforming and strengthening" public education and as a consequence has "lost ground," falling behind most wealthy countries in high-school graduation rates, he said.

"While we once led the world in the proportion of college graduates we produced, today we no longer do," Obama said.

Obama said the goal of his plan would be that all students graduate high school prepared for college and a career.

In the GOP response, Sen. Scott Brown (R. Mass.) chided Democrats for continuing to push a health-care-overhaul plan that he said most Americans oppose. He said Democrats had prioritized healthcare over jobs creation.

"Nearly one in 10 Americans are still out of work. And still, the President and Congress are focused on ramming through their health-care bill, whatever it takes, whatever the cost," Brown said.

Brown urged rank-and-file Democrats to override the leaders of their party and "go with the will of the people," which he said is to oppose the healthcare bill.

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