UT Press Publishes "Report Card Nation: The Inside Story of Education Reform Under George W. Bush"

The University of Tennessee Press has published Report Card Nation: The Inside Story of Education Reform Under George W. Bush by Charles E. Smith. Released on April 28, it is now available in paperback and ebook formats.

Smith was director of the National Assessment Governing Board under the George W. Bush administration. Report Card Nation details the ways his team and the National Assessment of Educational Processes (NAEP), commonly known as the Nation’s Report Card, were brought to the forefront of education reform in the United States in the 2000s. For the first time, Smith and his team of diligent public servants found themselves under a political spotlight, their work attracting interest from members of government and the American public and affecting large-scale policy change.

Telling the story of those years from the perspective of an insider, Smith says: “I give readers a close look at the step-by-step process that we used to deliver the message of performance to the nation and to explain why it mattered.” His book is a detailed, behind-the-scenes report of the strategy employed by the Bush administration to elevate the prominence and influence of the Nation’s Report Card, which became the central instrument used to measure the effectiveness of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind initiative.

Smith spent 32 years in Tennessee government before leading the National Assessment Governing Board. He is a Tennessee native who has also held positions at the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Board of Regents. His clear-eyed, well-researched narrative provides an essential look at how national policy shaped local realities and how one of the most controversial periods in public education still reverberates today.

Report Card Nation is available for purchase at utpress.org and wherever books are sold.

To connect with the author, review copies, or for course adoption information, please contact Stephanie Phillips, publicity and promotion coordinator for UT Press (sphill36@utk.edu or (865) 974-6106).

The University of Tennessee Press is the Volunteer State’s book publisher, committed to preserving and promoting the rich cultural and intellectual heritage of Tennessee and the region. Through its focused publishing program, it strives to deepen appreciation for the communities, ecosystems, and histories that make the state unique. Its mission is to enlighten readers, foster cultural dialogue, and improve the quality of life for the people of Tennessee and around the world. UT Press is a division of the University of Tennessee Libraries. For more information, visit www.utpress.org.