ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA — April 8, 2008 — Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) eighth grade students scored significantly higher than the national average on writing achievement tests administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

The NAEP writing skills assessment was administered to DoDEA students from late January to early March 2007. Eighth grade DoDEA students scored fourth in the nation, surpassed only by their public school counterparts in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. DoDEA's score of 165 represents system-wide participation from its schools domestically and overseas and ranks 11 points higher than the national average of 154.

 

NAEP 2007 Average Writing Score: Grade 8

Rank	State/Jurisdiction	Average Scale Score
1	New Jersey	175
2	Connecticut	172
3	Massachusetts	167
4	DoDEA	165
5	Vermont	162
6	Colorado, Maine	161
7	Illinois, New Hampshire	160
8	Pennsylvania	159
	Nation	154

 

Dr. Shirley Miles, DoDEA's Associate Director for Education and Principal Deputy Director, credits teachers, students and effective curriculum initiatives for the achievements made in writing.

"Writing is one of the keys to success in life," she said. "It is an essential means of communication, self-expression and learning. We are pleased and encouraged with the results because they reflect how well our students are performing in writing and in language arts in general. We thank our teachers and students for their hard work and their commitment to continuous improvement," she added.

The NAEP 2007 writing assessment presents a comprehensive view of what students in the United States know and can do in the area of writing. Writing assessments were administered previously in 1998 and 2002. Results are reported at the national, state, and district level at grade 8 and at the national level only at grade 12. In 2007, public school students in 45 states and the DoDEA schools participated in the writing assessment at grade 8. In 2002, DoDEA students placed 4th in the nation in writing, and second in 1998.

 

DoDEA NAEP Ranking in Writing for 1998, 2002, and 2007

All Students	Grade 8
	1998	2002	2007
DoDEA	2nd	4th	4th

 

Minority Achievement in DoDEA Remains High

African American and Hispanic students in DoDEA continued to score the highest in the nation in writing when compared with their stateside public school counterparts.

In 2007, DoDEA's African American students ranked first in the nation in writing, achieving a score one point higher than all public school students in the nation and 14 points higher than the nation's eighth grade African American students.

 

NAEP 2007 Average Reading Scale Scores African American Students

Grade 8 Students	1998		2002		2007
	Score	Rank	Score	Rank	Score	Rank
DoDEA African American	148	2nd	151	1st	155	1st
Nation African American	130		134		140
Nation All Students	148		152		154

 

Hispanic students in DoDEA continued to lead their counterparts throughout the nation in writing by 21 points. In addition to achieving the highest scores among their stateside counterparts, DoDEA's eighth grade Hispanic students surpassed the national average score for all public school students in the nation by 11 points.

 

NAEP 2007 Average Reading Scale ScoresHispanic Students

Grade 8 Students	1998		2002		2007
	Score	Rank	Score	Rank	Score	Rank
DoDEA Hispanic	154	1st	157	1st	165	1st
Nation Hispanic	130		135		141
Nation All Students	148		152		154

 

Additional Information
Detailed statistical information on the 2007 NAEP writing assessment and all other NAEP assessments can be found on the web at: http://www.nationsreportcard.gov