# Education Commission of the States

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a nonprofit that tracks educational policy. It is led by over 300 appointed commissioners from across the United States. ECS was founded as a result of the creation of the Compact for Education, an interstate compact approved by Congress and works with all 50 U.S. states, three territories (American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands) and the District of Columbia.
The idea of establishing a compact on education and creating an operational arm to follow up on its goals was originally proposed by James Bryant Conant, president of Harvard University. Between 1965 and 1967, John W. Gardner, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and former North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford took up the idea, drafted the proposed Compact, obtained the endorsement of all 50 states and got Congress' approval.
The organization opened its offices in Denver in 1967 and began administering the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test until the Reagan administration in 1982 made the decision to privatize the test, which is now administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). That decision threatened the very existence of the commission, leading to the virtual closing of ECS's Information Clearinghouse, the laying off or early retirement of half of its 117-member staff and a 50% cut in the organization's budget.
Each member jurisdiction (state, territory, and the District of Columbia) has seven seats on the commission, including the governor and six appointed members, usually including members of the state legislature and education officials, such as the state education commissioner or head of the state education agency.

## Awards

The commission gives out three yearly awards. The James Bryant Conant award has been given since 1977 for "outstanding individual contributions to education". The commission also gives out the Frank Newman award to a state or territory, and a corporate award to a corporation or nonprofit organization.

## Commission chairs

The commissioner chairman ship is held by the governor of a member jurisdiction. The term changed from one year to two years in 2002. It alternates between political parties.
As chairman from 2004-2006 and Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee launched an effort to increase student participation in the arts. An analysis released in 2008 found that elementary school class time for arts had decreased by 35% on average.
| Term | Governor | State | Focus |
| Organizing | Terry Sanford | North Carolina | |
| 1965–1966 | John H. Chafee | Rhode Island | |
| 1966–1967 | Charles L. Terry Jr. | Delaware | |
| 1967–1968 | Cal Rampton | Utah | |
| 1968–1969 | Robert E. McNair | South Carolina | |
| 1969–1970 | Tom McCall | Oregon | |
| 1970–1971 | Russell W. Peterson | Delaware | |
| 1971–1972 | Robert W. Scott | North Carolina | |
| 1972–1973 | Winfield Dunn | Tennessee | |
| 1973–1974 | Reubin Askew | Florida | |
| 1974–1975 | John C. West | South Carolina | |
| 1975–1976 | Arch A. Moore Jr. | West Virginia | |
| 1976–1977 | Jerry Apodaca | New Mexico | |
| 1977–1978 | Otis R. Bowen | Indiana | |
| 1978–1979 | Dixy Lee Ray | Washington | |
| 1979–1980 | William G. Milliken | Michigan | |
| 1980–1981 | Bob Graham | Florida | |
| 1981–1982 | Robert D. Ray | Iowa | |
| 1982–1983 | James B. Hunt Jr. | North Carolina | |
| 1983–1984 | Pierre S. du Pont | Delaware | |
| 1984–1985 | Charles S. Robb | Virginia | Business and Education Reform |
| 1985–1986 | Thomas Kean | New Jersey | Teacher Renaissance: Improving Undergraduate Education |
| 1986–1987 | Bill Clinton | Arkansas | Speaking of Leadership |
| 1987–1988 | John Ashcroft | Missouri | Family Involvement in the Schools |
| 1988–1989 | Rudy Perpich | Minnesota | Partners in Learning: Linking College Mentors with At-Risk Schools |
| 1989–1990 | Garrey E. Carruthers | New Mexico | Sharing Responsibility for Success |
| 1990–1991 | Booth Gardner | Washington | All Kids Can Learn |
| 1991–1992 | John R. McKernan Jr. | Maine | Keeping the Promises of Reform |
| 1992–1993 | Evan Bayh | Indiana | Education for a Revitalized Democracy |
| 1993–1994 | Jim Edgar | Illinois | Building Communities that Support Education Reform |
| 1994–1995 | Roy Romer | Colorado | Making Quality Count in Undergraduate Education |
| 1995–1996 | Tommy Thompson | Wisconsin | Connecting Learning and Work |
| 1996–1997 | Terry Branstad | Iowa | Harnessing Technology for Teaching and Learning |
| 1997–1998 | Zell Miller | Georgia | Investing in Student Achievement |
| 1998–1999 | Paul E. Patton | Kentucky | Transforming Postsecondary Education |
| 1999–2000 | Jim Geringer | Wyoming | In Pursuit of Quality Teaching |
| 2000–2001 | Jeanne Shaheen | New Hampshire | Early Learning: Improving Results for Young Children |
| 2001–2002 | Kenny Guinn | Nevada | Leading for Literacy |
| 2002–2003 | Roy Barnes | Georgia | Closing the Achievement Gap |
| 2003–2004 | Mark Warner | Virginia | High-Quality Teachers for Hard-to-Staff Schools |
| 2004–2006 | Mike Huckabee | Arkansas | The Arts: A Lifetime of Learning |
| 2006–2008 | Kathleen Sebelius | Kansas | Great Teachers for Tomorrow |
| 2008–2010 | Tim Pawlenty | Minnesota | |
| 2010–2012 | John Hickenlooper | Colorado | |
| 2012–2014 | Brian Sandoval | Nevada | |
| 2015–2017 | Steve Bullock | Montana | |
| 2017–2019 | Phil Bryant | Mississippi | |
| 2019–2021 | Tom Wolf | Pennsylvania | |
| 2021–2022 | Kim Reynolds | Iowa | |
| 2022–2023 | Asa Hutchinson | Arkansas | Expand K12 computer science education |
| 2023–2025 | Laura Kelly | Kansas |

## Commission executive directors/presidents

| Tenure | Name | Title |
| 1967–1976 | Wendell H. Pierce | Executive director |
| 1976–1980 | Warren Hill | Executive director |
| 1980–1984 | Robert Andringa | Executive director |
| 1985–1999 | Frank Newman | President |
| 2000–2005 | Ted Sanders | President |
| 2005–2006 | Piedad F. Robertson | President |
| 2007–2012 | Roger Sampson | President |
| 2012–present | Jeremy Anderson | President |