DoDEA students score above average in tests - Military Community, Spouse and Family Resources - Military Times

DoDEA students score above average in tests

Children in Defense Department schools scored above the national average in the recently released results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress Science Assessment.

The test was administered to all fourth- and eighth-grade students in the Department of Defense Education Activity from January to early March 2009.

DoDEA eighth-graders’ score of 162 tied with Montana and North Dakota for the highest among the states and jurisdictions that participated, according to a DoDEA announcement. The national average was 149.

DoDEA’s fourth-graders scored 159, ranking behind seven other states.

Acting DoDEA director Marilee Fitzgerald said she is encouraged by DoDEA’s students’ performance on the tests, and notes that educators will work to help more students score even higher.

“We will continue to examine our science program to identify ways we can ensure our students achieve measurable and enduring progress in their performance,” she said in DoDEA’s announcement of the scores. “This includes initiatives that we are going to develop and emphasize in the [science, technology, engineering and math] arenas.”

NAEP assessments are the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students know and can do in various subject areas. They are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography and U.S. history. Scores are not provided for individual students or schools.

Because of changes in the 2009 science assessment, the results cannot be compared to previous years, NAEP officials said.

DoDEA’s African-American, Hispanic and white students scored higher than their national counterparts in science, according to DoDEA. In both grades, African-American and Hispanic groups were either in first place or tied for first place among their national peers.

NAEP tests results normally are released within a year after students take the test. The results of this NAEP science assessment were released two years after the tests were taken “mainly because we had so many other 2009 NAEP assessments at the same time,” said Stephaan Harris, a spokesman for the National Assessment Governing Board.

Also, because this report has new achievement levels and is the baseline for measuring trends for future science reports, additional work went into ensuring the accuracy of these new levels, he said.