U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has announced the reappointment of Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon for a second four year term on the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB).
As part of the Governing Board, Gordon helps to lead its work to set policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly known as The Nation's Report Card. The assessment makes information on student performance available to policy-makers and the public at the national, state, and local levels. Gordon was originally appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003.
"I am honored and humbled to receive this reappointment," Gordon said. "We have made great strides in the classroom over the past few years but we still have much work ahead to make sure that our students get the instruction necessary to prepare them for success in college and the workplace."
"We are delighted to have David Gordon on the Governing Board," said Governing Board Chairman Darvin M. Winick. "His experience and insight are major assets in our efforts to oversee The Nation's Report Card—the most valuable benchmark we have for monitoring student progress."
Gordon is one of a group of governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators and researchers, business representatives, and members of the general public who make up the 26-member Board which develops policy guidance for the NAEP, the only continuing assessment of what students know and can do in various subjects at the elementary and secondary school levels. Under the No Child Left Behind law, which requires that states participate every two years in the national assessment's state-level samples for assessing reading and math achievement in grades four and eight, the national assessment has taken on a new role as an independent yardstick of school achievement. States are now able to compare trends on the national assessment with performance on their own state exams.
The board is involved in a number of activities, including:
- Selecting the subjects to be tested;
- Identifying learning objectives for each grade tested;
- Identifying appropriate achievement goals;
- and Ensuring that all items selected for use in the assessment are free from racial, cultural, gender and regional biases.
Gordon has worked in education for nearly 40 years. He has a statewide and national reputation as an innovator in areas such as preschool, assessment, teacher education and special education. He also serves on the Governor Schwarzenegger's Commission on Excellence in Education. He has served on numerous other boards and commissions, including the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Curriculum Development Commission.
Prior to being named Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools in 2004, Gordon served as Elk Grove Unified School District Superintendent, beginning in 1995. From 1985 to 1991 he was California Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Gordon began his career as an elementary school teacher in South Bronx, New York, in 1968. He holds a B.A. degree from Brandeis University and an Ed.M. and Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Educational Administration from Harvard University.
David W. Gordon and his wife Deborah reside in Sacramento. They have two grown children and five grandchildren.