Systemwide Assessment

The Systemwide Assessment program includes important assessments of learning which provide information about the achievement of our students for accountability purposes.

Traditionally, Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) has administered a general achievement battery such as the TerraNova Multiple Assessments in the spring. With the adoption of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Community Strategic Plan the number of assessments has increased.

Photo of students taking tests

Systemwide Assessments
Assessment	Grade Levels
Algebra End-of-Course Assessment	7–12
Balanced Assessment in Mathematics	4, 8
Developmental Reading Assessment	3
TerraNova Performance Assessment: Communication Arts	4–8
TerraNova Multiple Assessment	3–11

Other Important Assessments
Advanced Placement Examinations—These tests are given to students who have taken advanced placement courses in high school. Students with high scores can often receive college credit for the course. Beginning with SY 2003–2004, students taking advanced placement courses will be required to take the relevant advanced placement exam in order to receive a weighted grade in the course. DoDEA will pay for the exam.

Preliminary SAT (PSAT)—This assessment is not part of the Systemwide Assessment Program but it is given in October at DoDEA expense to all tenth graders as part of the system’s efforts to prepare students for post-secondary education. Results are reported to students in December. (Students taking the PSAT in their junior year are considered for scholarships offered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.)

SAT I—Formerly know as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT I is taken by many students as a requirement for admission to college.

ACT—The ACT is the other major college entrance examination taken by many DoDDS Pacific students.

National Assessment of Educational Progress—DoDDS schools participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. This program, often called The Nation’s Report Card, is funded by the federal government, and assessments are administered on a periodic basis. For example, students in grades 4 and 8 were tested in reading and mathematics during SY 2002–2003, but the assessments will not be given again until SY 2004–2005. NAEP results are reported only for DoDDS and DDESS as a whole. Individual student, school, and district results are not produced.

Test Preparation
The best form of test preparation is high-quality instruction. Apart from ensuring that students understand the mechanics of the test they are to take, there is really no need to engage in extensive test preparation activities, and some “test preparation activities” violate the DoDEA assessment regulation (DRS 2000.6).

Parents can help their children perform their best on systemwide assessments by making sure their children understand:

•

that their performance on these tests is important to you;

•

that the tests provide a chance to show off what they know and can do;

•

and that that the tests are designed to “stretch” students and consequently are difficult.

DoDDS-Pacific/DDESS-Guam Test Scores