Charles E. Smith, the executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, has announced that he will step down from that post to take a position with the Washington office of ACT, the testing service.
Mr. Smith, 69, had worked at the governing board since 2003. The 26-member board is an independent federal entity that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. The board is expected to begin its search for a successor to Mr. Smith this month.
As executive director, Mr. Smith oversaw a staff of 13 employees and an annual budget of $6 million. He led the governing board at a time when the NAEP results received increasing scrutiny, partly because of federal requirements that states participate in the exam to receive federal funds.
Mr. Smith will serve as vice president and head of the Washington office of ACT, which is based in Iowa City, Iowa.
