- Education Commission of the States
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The Education Commission of the States (ECS) was founded as a result of the creation of the Compact for Education, an interstate compact approved by Congress in 1965 and currently entered by 49 U.S. states (all except Washington), three territories (American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands), and the District of Columbia.
The idea of establishing a compact on education and creating an operational arm to follow up on its goals was originally proposed by James Bryant Conant, president of Harvard University. Between 1965 and 1967, John W. Gardner, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and former North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford took up the idea, drafted the proposed Compact, obtained the endorsement of all 50 states and got Congress' approval.
The organization opened its offices in Denver in 1967 and began administering the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test until the Reagan administration in 1982 made the decision to privatize the test, which is now administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). That decision threatened the very existence of the Commission, leading to the virtual closing of ECS's Information Clearinghouse, the laying off or early retirement of half of its 117-member staff and a 50% cut in the organization's budget.
Each member jurisdiction (state, territory, and the District of Columbia) has seven seats on the Commission, including the governor and six appointed members, usually including members of the state legislature and education officials, such as the state education commissioner or head of the state education agency.
Commission chairs
The commissioner chairman ship is held by the governor of a member jurisdiction. The term changed from one year to two years in 2002. It alternates between political parties.
Term Governor State Focus Organizing Terry Sanford North Carolina 1965-1966 John H. Chafee Rhode Island 1966-1967 Charles L. Terry, Jr. Delaware 1967-1968 Calvin L. Rampton Utah 1968-1969 Robert E. McNair South Carolina 1969-1970 Tom McCall Oregon 1970-1971 Russell W. Peterson Delaware 1971-1972 Robert W. Scott North Carolina 1972-1973 Winfield Dunn Tennessee 1973-1974 Reubin Askew Florida 1974-1975 John C. West South Carolina 1975-1976 Arch A. Moore, Jr. West Virginia 1976-1977 Jerry Apodaca New Mexico 1977-1978 Otis R. Bowen Indiana 1978-1979 Dixy Lee Ray Washington 1979-1980 William G. Milliken Michigan 1980-1981 Bob Graham Florida 1981-1982 Robert D. Ray Iowa 1982-1983 James B. Hunt Jr. North Carolina 1983-1984 Pierre S. du Pont Delaware 1984-1985 Charles S. Robb Virginia Business and Education Reform 1985-1986 Thomas H. Kean New Jersey Teacher Renaissance: Improving Undergraduate Education 1986-1987 Bill Clinton Arkansas Speaking of Leadership 1987-1988 John Ashcroft Missouri Family Involvement in the Schools 1988-1989 Rudy Perpich Minnesota Partners in Learning: Linking College Mentors with At-Risk Schools 1989-1990 Garrey E. Carruthers New Mexico Sharing Responsibility for Success 1990-1991 Booth Gardner Washington All Kids Can Learn 1991-1992 John R. McKernan, Jr. Maine Keeping the Promises of Reform 1992-1993 Evan Bayh Indiana Education for a Revitalized Democracy 1993-1994 Jim Edgar Illinois Building Communities that Support Education Reform 1994-1995 Roy Romer Colorado Making Quality Count in Undergraduate Education 1995-1996 Tommy Thompson Wisconsin Connecting Learning and Work 1996-1997 Terry Branstad Iowa Harnessing Technology for Teaching and Learning 1997-1998 Zell Miller Georgia Investing in Student Achievement 1998-1999 Paul E. Patton Kentucky Transforming Postsecondary Education 1999-2000 Jim Geringer Wyoming In Pursuit of Quality Teaching 2000-2001 Jeanne Shaheen New Hampshire Early Learning: Improving Results for Young Children 2001-2002 Kenny Guinn Nevada Leading for Literacy 2002-2003 Roy Barnes Georgia Closing the Achievement Gap 2003-2004 Mark Warner Virginia High-Quality Teachers for Hard-to-Staff Schools 2004-2006 Mike Huckabee Arkansas The Arts: A Lifetime of Learning 2006-2008 Kathleen Sebelius Kansas Great Teachers for Tomorrow 2008-2010 Tim Pawlenty Minnesota 2010–2012 John Hickenlooper Colorado Commission executive directors/presidents
Tenure Name Title 1967-1976 Wendell H. Pierce Executive director 1976-1980 Warren Hill Executive director 1980-1984 Robert Andringa Executive director 1985-1999 Frank Newman President 2000-2005 Ted Sanders President 2005-2006 Piedad F. Robertson President 2007-present Roger Sampson President Sources
Categories:- Education in the United States
- United States interstate agencies
- United States interstate compacts
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