January 2020

Christine Cunningham (Pennsylvania State University)

On January 30, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos appointed three new members of the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). NAGB is an independent, nonpartisan board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and is responsible for communicating results of the NAEP tests.

Among the appointees is AERA member Christine Cunningham, professor of education and engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on developing evidence-based curricula and resources to encourage interest in engineering, particularly for underrepresented populations. Cunningham received the AERA Division K Dissertation Award in 1996 and is also the founder of the Engineering is Elementary program at the Museum of Science in Boston. She will be serving as a curriculum specialist on NAGB.

Secretary DeVos also appointed former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour as board chair and general public representative, and as board member, Patrick Kelly, a 12th-grade Advanced Placement teacher of U.S. government and politics and coordinator of professional learning for Richland School District 2 in South Carolina.

These three appointees are the final ones for the 2019–2023 term. Their terms began on October 1, 2019, and will end on September 30, 2023. Barbour’s term as chair will end on September 30, 2020.