Governing Board Adopts Recommendations
from Its NAEP Parent Engagement Committee

WASHINGTON (May 25, 2012) - At its quarterly meeting this May, the National Assessment Governing Board approved the recommendations of its Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Parent Engagement, clearing the way for the Board to increase its outreach strategies to inform parent leaders and parent groups about NAEP.

The Governing Board created the committee, made up of eight members and launched in March 2011, to develop ways the Board and others can use NAEP data and resources to increase awareness among parents about the urgency to improve overall student achievement and reduce achievement gaps by race, ethnicity, and income. Some of the committee's ultimate recommendations include:

• Specify national, state, and local parent leaders and parent organizations as the target audience.
• Establish relationships with recognized parent and community-based organizations.
• Develop presentations and materials targeted to parents, along with parent pages on the websites of the Governing Board and NAEP.
• Conduct a parent education summit in late 2012.

"The Board is excited about the opportunity to inform and educate parents on NAEP, and to better serve them with resources that will allow easier use of important data on student achievement," said Board member and committee chair Tonya Miles. "We believe these recommendations approved by the Board will help us reach parents with NAEP resources to convey the urgency of improving achievement for all students and of closing achievement gaps between students by race, ethnicity and income levels."

The Board sets policy for NAEP, or the National Assessment of Educational Progress - otherwise known as The Nation's Report Card. Please see the full resolution adopted by the Board as well as the committee's detailed recommendations.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the only nationally representative, continuing evaluation of the condition of education in the United States. It has served as a national yardstick of student achievement since 1969. Through the Nation's Report Card, NAEP informs the public about what American students know and can do in various subject areas and compares achievement between states, large urban districts, and various student demographic groups.
The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan 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 oversee and set policy for NAEP.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a congressionally authorized project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences, administers NAEP. The Commissioner of Education Statistics is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project.