A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

     FOR RELEASE                            Contact:  Melinda Kitchell    October 26, 1994                                   (202) 401-1008

RILEY APPOINTS FOUR NEW MEMBERS TO NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD

Patsy Cavazos, principal, W.G. Love Accelerated Elementary School, Houston;

Catherine L. Davidson, director of secondary education, Central Kitsap School District, Silverdale, Washington;

James E. Ellingson, teacher, Probst Field School, Moorhead, Minnesota;

And, Fannie L. Simmons, teacher, Irmo Middle School, Irmo, South Carolina.

Riley also reappointed Mary Blanton, an attorney in Salisbury, North Carolina, and NAGB Chairman Randall to four-year terms. "The National Assessment of Educational Progress provides invaluable insight into what students are learning and the progress of American education," Riley said. "As state and national efforts to improve schools expand, the contribution of the board members in designing and guiding future NAEP assessments will continue to be significant." The 24-member governing board formulates policy guidelines for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students know and can do in various subjects. The board is involved in a number of activities, including:

• Selecting the subjects to be tested;
• Identifying assessment objectives for each age and grade tested;
• Ensuring that all items selected for use in the assessment are free from racial, cultural, gender or regional bias;
• Identifying appropriate achievement goals.