APPENDIX C -- THE WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF MR. MARK D. MUSICK, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD, WASHINGTON, D.C. THE NATION'S REPORT CARD National Assessment Governing Board National Assessment of Educational Progress Reauthorization National Assessment of Educational Progress National Assessment Governing Board Testimony of Mark D. Musick Chairman, National Assessment Governing Board Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families May 11, 2000 200 North Capitol Street, N.W. Good morning. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be testifying before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families on the reauthorization of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Assessment Governing Board. I am Mark Musick, Chairman of the Governing Board. I also am President of the Southern Regional Education Board. Like many of us in the room today, my interest in education is both personal and professional. My two children attended public schools in Atlanta, Georgia. Tomorrow, my daughter receives an MBA. I know that decisions about education made today will affect my children's children tomorrow. My testimony focuses on the specific issues you asked me to address. It is based on positions that have been adopted over time by the National Assessment Governing Board. I also am submitting for the record, as an attachment to this testimony, a copy of a letter I sent to Chairman Goodling last December. The letter contains principles and detailed specifications for National Assessment reauthorization developed by the Governing Board. NAEP's Usefulness I am a long-time fan of the National Assessment. It is a treasure for our Nation. The National Assessment is our only continuing source of credible information at the national level and one of the most important sources for state leaders on our annual $400 billion investment in student achievement. The Southern Regional Education Board uses test questions based on the National Assessment to measure progress in SREB's "High Schools that Work" program. During the 1980's, SREB states pioneered the National Assessment at the state level before Congress established the state-NAEP option in 1988. There is good news about the National Assessment. Once little known and mainly the province of researchers, today the information the National Assessment provides is widely used by national and state policymakers. National Assessment results are regularly front-page news. National Assessment results are frequently quoted in this hearing room. Forty states or more use the National Assessment to track their progress over time, to validate their own state test results, and to compare their performance with other states. State-by-state comparisons can be done using the National Assessment but can't be done with state tests. They are not comparable because the content of state tests, the grades tested, and the test administration procedures are as varied as the states themselves. Others use National Assessment data, too. The National Assessment figures prominently in the annual reports of the National Education Goals Panel. Education Week relies heavily on the National Assessment in its annual publication “Education Counts." Governors, state legislators, and chief state school officers depend on and want more National Assessment state-level results. |