Washington ? Education Secretary Rod Paige this week used a sternly worded letter to warn school districts nationwide not to lower their academic standards, saying those who do are “the enemies of equal justice and equal opportunity.”

While praising states that are working to implement the “No Child Left Behind” reforms sought by President Bush and passed by Congress, Paige called those resisting the reforms “apologists for failure” and predicted, “they will not succeed.”

The law singles out schools with high numbers of students whose basic math and reading skills are substandard. Paige has said that giving a national skills test the annual National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP will show which states’ standards are low.

Education Department officials have said the public embarrassment of low NAEP scores could urge states to raise their standards.