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U.S. Education Secretary Appoints Former Utah Governor To Board Overseeing The Nation’s Report Card

U.S. Education Secretary Appoints Former Utah Governor To Board Overseeing The Nation’s Report Card

For Release: November 5, 2021

Contact: Stephaan Harris, (202) 357-7504, Stephaan.Harris@ed.gov

U.S. Education Secretary Appoints Former Utah Governor

To Board Overseeing The Nation’s Report Card Gov. Gary R. Herbert joins National Assessment Governing Board, filling post for Republican governor

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona appointed former Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert to a four-year term on the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the only ongoing, nationally representative assessment of what American students know and can do in various subjects.

The Governing Board is a nonpartisan body established by Congress to oversee and set policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card. NAEP provides objective information on student performance in various subjects and for different student groups and reports on student achievement across the nation, in states, and in large urban districts.

Herbert serves in the Governing Board’s Republican governor position. His term officially began on Oct. 1, 2021 and will end on Sept. 30, 2025. With Gov. Herbert’s appointment, all positions on the Governing Board are filled following an earlier announcement of other appointees. Although the Board operates independently, NAEP law calls for members to be appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Herbert was governor of Utah from August 2009 to January 2021. Prior to becoming governor, he served as Utah’s lieutenant governor for five years. Herbert also served as the national president of the Council of State Governments and chair of the National Governors Association and the Western Governors Association. Between 1990 and 2004, he was a member of the Utah County Commission.

The 26-member Governing Board is responsible for deciding which subjects NAEP assesses, determining the assessments’ content, setting achievement levels that describe student performance, and pursuing new ways to make NAEP results useful and meaningful to the public. The Board includes business leaders, local and state school officials, teachers, principals, parents, state legislators, and governors (current or former), with the latter two categories including both Democrats and Republicans.

“We welcome Gov. Herbert to the National Assessment Governing Board,” said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the Governing Board. “He joins an esteemed group of leaders with diverse backgrounds and perspectives from across the country who share a commitment to understanding and improving student achievement.”

Download the PDF version of the release here.

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The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, nonpartisan board whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988 to set policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. For more information about the Governing Board, visit www.nagb.gov.