March 4, 2011

Governor Attending National Assessment Governing Board Meeting

Governor Jack Markell will attend the quarterly meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board, the bipartisan board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly known as “The Nation's Report Card.”

“As our kids learn in school, clear and accurate measurements are important,” said Markell. “In order to improve education and prepare our students for the jobs of the future, we need to understand how they’re really doing. This is a great opportunity to represent Delaware where decisions are made about national data collection and to learn new methods that we could use here.”

He was nominated to serve on the board by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. This position gives Delaware a key role as the federal government looks at means and measures of evaluating student performance. It also gives the Governor additional momentum with one of his top three priorities (creating jobs, creating efficiencies in government and enhancing education) by allowing him to move forward with the kind of educational reforms that will help students achieve their full potential and better prepare them for a globally competitive workplace.

This role builds on his previous efforts leading a national Common Core State Standards initiative, a year-long process led by governors and chief state school officers. The final standards were informed by thousands of public comments and by standards in other top performing countries so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy. These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school fully prepared for college and careers.

Delaware’s Department of Education, led by Secretary Lillian Lowery, is currently implementing a state-of-the-art assessment system for Delaware school children, which will debut statewide next year. In addition, Delaware was named as the top scoring state in a national Race to the Top competitive federal grant program to improve public school education and is being awarded $119 million over four years for the initiative.