WASHINGTON (October 2 2009)Five leaders from around the country representing fields that include education science and policymaking have been appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board to serve a four-year term U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today. He also announced a new Board chairDavid P. Driscoll former Commissioner of Education for Massachusetts who has served as a Board member since 2006.
Terms for all members began October 1 2009. The five appointees which include one incumbent member will help set policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) commonly known as The Nations Report Card. The assessment makes objective information on student performance available to policy-makers and the public at the national state and local levels and has served an important role in evaluating the condition and progress of American education since 1969.
NAEP is an invaluable tool for measuring how well our students are prepared to compete in the global economy Secretary Duncan said. I am grateful for David Driscolls leadership and the other board members service on NAGB. Their hard work ensures that NAEP remains a truly independent assessment of our nations educational progress.
In overseeing The Nations Report Card the 26-member Governing Boarda group of governors state legislators local and state school officials educators and researchers business representatives and members of the general publicdetermines subjects and content to be tested and the achievement levels for reporting scores and works to inform the public about the results.
I am honored to be selected by Sec. Duncan as Governing Board Chair as his call for high standards for all states has been something we are proud to have accomplished in Massachusetts said Driscoll an education consultant who served as the 22nd Commissioner of Education in Massachusetts from 1998 to 2007. In a career in public education and educational leadership that spans 45 years Driscoll also was past president of the Council of Chief State School Officers. I look forward to working with the Secretary and ensuring the Board continues to set the course for strong rigor in American education.
The Board members and the categories they will serve under include:
- Alan J. Friedman (general public New York City); a current Board member who has served since 2006. Friedman is a consultant in the areas of museum development and science communication having worked with more than sixty institutions around the world. From 1984 to 2006 he was the director and CEO of the New York Hall of Science.
- Doris Hicks (elementary principal New Orleans); principal and CEO of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology in New Orleans. After her school was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Hicks was instrumental in rebuilding Kingthe first public school to open in the citys devastated Lower Ninth Ward.
- Tonya Miles (general public Mitchellville Md.); the chief departmental administrator in the Office of the General Counsel for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Miles is also a former member of the Maryland State Board of Education and a long-time PTA member
- W. James Popham (testing and measuring expert Wilsonville Ore.); a professor and expert in assessment and instruction for nearly 50 years. Since 1991 he has served as professor emeritus of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California Los Angeles.
- Leticia Van de Putte (state legislator-Democrat San Antonio); a fifth-term Texas State Senator for District 26 which represents a large portion of San Antonio. Van de Putte has also served as a pharmacist for 30 years.
More information about the Governing Board and its work can be found at
http://www.nagb.org. More information about The Nations Report Card™ can be found at
http://nationsreportcard.gov
