The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a nonprofit that tracks educational policy. Over 300 appointed commissioners from across the United States lead it . 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. It administered the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) until the Reagan administration privatized the test in 1982, which is now administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). That decision threatened the commission's very existence, leading to the virtual closure of ECS's Information Clearinghouse, the layoff 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.
The commission presents three awards annually. The James Bryant Conant award has been given since 1977 for "outstanding individual contributions to education". The commission also presents the Frank Newman award to a state or territory and a corporate award to a corporation or nonprofit organization.
The governor of a member jurisdiction serves as the commissioner chair. 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 the arts had decreased by an average of 35%.