sentences:  degree with distinction in French Literature from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in reading research and reading education with distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.While serving as Senior Associate Commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Education from 1999 to 2003, she directed complete revisions of the state's preK-12 standards for every major subject that have been judged among the best in the country by independent experts for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in two decades of reviews of state standards.On the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 tests given by NAEP, Massachusetts students had the highest average scores in grades 4 and 8 in both mathematics and reading, The scores of the state’s low-income students, compared with those in other states on NAEP's 2007 tests, were tied for first place in grades 4 and 8 mathematics and in grade 4 reading.