Westfield Teacher Named To Board Overseeing Nation's Report Card

WESTFIELD, NJ — A Westfield educator has been appointed to the board that oversees the Nation’s Report Card.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon appointed Lauren Archer of Westfield to the National Assessment Governing Board.

Archer is a fourth-grade teacher at McKinley Elementary School in Westfield and will serve in a seat reserved for a fourth-grade teacher.

The 26-member National Assessment Governing Board sets policies for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as NAEP or the Nation’s Report Card.

That work includes deciding which grades and subjects are assessed, what content is included on the tests, how achievement levels are set, and how results are made useful to policymakers and the public.

Created by Congress in 1988, the board is described as an independent, nonpartisan body made up of governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives and members of the general public.

Archer brings more than a decade of education experience to the role, according to the school district.

In Westfield, she currently serves as McKinley School’s Instructional Technology Support teacher and has worked on the district’s elementary language arts and social studies curriculum committees.

The district also says Archer helped lead the district’s New Staff Institute Leadership Team, where she designed and delivered professional development for new and veteran teachers.

Her past work also includes serving as a Racial Literacy Ambassador for the district, participating on the McKinley School Pandemic Design Team, and working on the New Jersey Department of Education’s Amistad Commission Lesson Plan Committee.

"We're thrilled to have someone with Lauren Archer's depth and breadth of experience on the Governing Board," NAGB Chair and Tennessee State Rep. Mark White said. "Her experience will be invaluable as we prepare to release 4th and 8th-grade math and reading scores this winter and update the framework for the NAEP Civics Assessment, which guides what's on the test, in the following months."

"It’s an honor to serve on the Governing Board at a time when teachers across the country are working hard to raise student achievement across subjects and grades," Archer said. "I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Board to ensure NAEP data provides educators and leaders with the critical information they need to drive positive change in schools nationwide."

Archer is a Villanova University graduate and earned a master’s degree from Monmouth University School of Education.

More information about the Governing Board is available at www.nagb.gov.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.