The National Assessment Governing Board has announced the appointment of Charles E. Smith, former Tennessee Commissioner of Education and chancellor emeritus of the Tennessee state system of colleges and universities, as its new Executive Director.

Darvin Winick, chairman of the independent, bipartisan Board, said "We feel fortunate to have a person with such wide experience join us in carrying out the important work of the National Assessment of Educational Progress and its Governing Board." The 26-member Board sets policy for NAEP, a Congressionally-authorized survey, commonly known as the Nation's Report Card. The assessment provides the only regular data on achievement by a representative cross-section of students in U.S. elementary and secondary schools.

Charles E. Smith

Smith will begin a three-year appointment January 1 as head of the Governing Board's professional staff. He succeeds Roy Truby, who is retiring after 13 years as NAGB's first Executive Director.

From 1987 to 1994, Smith served as Tennessee's education chief, developing and implementing a comprehensive reform effort, the Governor's 21st Schools Program. In 1991, the Tennessee state education department was the first in the nation to publish detailed school-by-school report cards-with both program and achievement data-for every public school in the state. Later, during six years as chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, Smith initiated similar report cards for all 46 campuses of the state college and university system.

"Passage of the No Child Left Behind legislation has thrust the National Assessment Governing Board front and center in the national effort to assess and improve education across our country," Smith said. "The opportunity to play a leadership role in this initiative has special appeal to me, and I am honored that the Board has asked me to assume this important assignment."

Under the No Child Left Behind law, signed by President Bush in January, all states are required to participate in NAEP state samples in 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics every two years, starting in 2003. Since 1990, 49 states have participated, on a voluntary basis, in state NAEP assessments in reading, math, science, and writing.

NAEP has been conducting surveys on a national sample basis of both public and private schools since 1969. These have covered an even wider variety of subjects, including U.S. history, geography, civics, and the arts. Earlier this year, NAEP began a trial urban assessment in five big-city school districts.

Mark Musick, a former chairman of NAGB who headed the search committee, said, "Charles Smith has more than 30 years of experience, working with educators, working with political leaders of all persuasions, and working with statewide boards. We believe this experience will serve the National Assessment extremely well." Musick also praised Truby for "providing extraordinary leadership during a period of unprecedented change and development for the National Assessment."

The National Assessment Governing Board was established in 1988 and is composed of state, local, and federal officials, educators, and members of the public. It decides on the content of NAEP assessments and sets standards for Basic, Proficient, and Advanced performance in each grade and subject assessed. The Board has final authority over all test questions, which include both multiple-choice and open-ended items.

NAEP is forbidden by law to provide data on individual students. Its results for groups, including students in poverty and by race/ethnicity, have been widely used to report on achievement gaps. The National Center for Education Statistics, of the U.S. Department of Education, is responsible for administering the program.

Smith, who was born in White County, TN, holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, and master's and doctorate degrees from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. For almost 20 years, he was an administrator at the University of Tennessee, heading two of its campuses, serving as vice president for administration, and earlier as director of public relations. He began his career as a journalist, and was editor of the Nashville Banner in 1979.

After retiring as chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents in early 2000, Smith has been president of a consulting firm, based in Nashville.

Smith has served on the executive committees of the American College Testing (ACT) Program and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). He has been president of the Peabody College Alumni Association and a board member of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and the Tennessee Arts Institute. He and his wife, the former Shawna Lea Hickerson, have two children and four grandchildren.