Hager Sharp Supports Release of The Nation's Report Card Mathematics 2009

October 14, 2009 - The highly anticipated results from The Nation’s Report Card mathematics 2009 were released on October 14, culminating months of work by the team at Hager Sharp. The Nations’ Report Card reports results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and presented results on the math performance of 4th and 8th graders nationally and in every state. The release was news across the country. Our team was involved from inception to release. We supported the National Center for Education Statistics and contractors in the development of the content and the design of the report in a way that would ensure broad understanding of complex statistical data. We developed release materials and worked closely with the Associate Commissioner and Acting Commissioner on the presentation of the findings. Each state has a coordinator responsible for NAEP. At a workshop prior to the release the Hager Sharp team worked one-on-one with the coordinators to help them focus their state story. We also presented to the state representatives on how to effectively work with the media and address common misconceptions, and provided a look at key issues in education to consider when presenting the findings.

Media coverage of the report was widespread across state and national media, including print coverage from the AP, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. NBC covered the report on the Nightly News and local television and radio stations covered the results.

Our behind-the-scenes involvement with every NAEP subject assessed is at all levels, with all contractors. From developing communication materials to helping schools encourage student participation, to observing students taking the assessment, Hager Sharp is the communications firm that helps craft and builds the NAEP brand and the results of the assessment, The Nation’s Report Card.