News in Brief: A Washington Roundup

The board that oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress has appointed Charles E. Smith, a former commissioner of education in Tennessee and the chancellor emeritus of that state's system of colleges and universities, as its new executive director.

Mr. Smith will begin a three-year appointment Jan. 1 as the head of the board's professional staff. The independent, bipartisan National Assessment Governing Board sets policy for NAEP. Also known as the "nation's report card," the congressionally authorized assessment provides data on the achievement of a representative sampling of American students in key subjects.

Mr. Smith succeeds Roy Truby, who is retiring after spending 13 years as the...