Standards

Maine’s Schools Chief Steps Down to Lead Test Consortium

By Catherine Gewertz — April 15, 2010 1 min read
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Just minutes ago, we were telling you about how those assessment consortia are evolving in their bids for Race to the Top money. Now comes the news that Susan Gendron, Maine’s commissioner of education, is leaving her job to help lead one of those consortia.

The news left one state lawmaker lamenting that Gendron wouldn’t be around to help the state win money in the second round of the main (no pun intended) Race to the Top competition. She’s also led a move there to consolidate school districts, and some lawmakers said they hated to see her leave that work now.

Gendron knows more than a little about common assessments; with three other states, Maine is part of the New England Common Assessment Program. She is also just finishing a term as president of the Council of Chief State School Officers, which is co-leading the initiative to design common standards (with which common assessments are supposed to be aligned).

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.