The State: Former North Carolina Gov. Perdue Leading Testing Board

The following is an Associated Press article. It originally appeared in The State.  

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina's first female governor is taking another trailblazing role as head of a board that oversees standardized tests designed to measure student achievement across the country.

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Friday that former Gov. Beverly Perdue is now chair of the National Assessment Governing Board. Perdue is identified as the first woman to chair the board in its 30-year history.

The nonpartisan board sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Representative samples taking the tests nationwide allow states to compare themselves on academic performance.

Perdue is a former school teacher, Democratic legislator and lieutenant governor who was elected governor in 2008. She declined to seek a second gubernatorial term. Since leaving office, Perdue founded an education technology nonprofit. She joined the board last year.