DoDEA

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA — July 17, 2005 — Dr. Joseph Tafoya, Director, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) today announced the organization's 2005 standardized test results for the TerraNova 2nd Edition. In 2002, DoDEA students were tested using the TerraNova 2nd Edition for the first time to establish TerraNova baseline results for the system so student achievement could be compared from one year to the next. DoDEA has successfully used the 2001-2006 Community Strategic Plan (CSP) to raise education standards and advance students to higher levels of achievement. From 2002-2005, DoDEA has made significant gains by increasing the percent of students in the "Above the Standard" and "At the Standard" levels by 1, 2 and 4 points in Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. DoDEA has also been successful in decreasing the percent of students whose scores are in the "Below the Standard" level by 1 point in Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. DoDEA has met the 2006 goal in Language Arts by reducing the percentage of students in the "Below the Standard" performance level to 8% or less.

DoDEA Students Continue to Score Well

The standardized test provides DoDEA results that can be compared to a sample group of students across the nation. The 2005 test results show that DoDEA students' average scores remain substantially higher than the national average (50th percentile) in all subject areas (Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science) at all grade levels tested (3-11). Thirty-seven (37) of the 45 subtest scores were 10-20 points above the national average than the 50th percentile; six (6) subtest scores were 21-27 points higher than national average; and two (2) subtest scores were 9 points higher.

The following table provides a comprehensive picture of DoDEA 2005 TerraNova results compared with the national average which is at the 50th percentile for all subjects and all grade levels.

The 2001-2006 CSP renews and refines the organization's commitment to helping all students succeed by monitoring and measuring student progress through standardized tests. In addition, the CSP requires the reporting of student data by the percentage of students within each national percentile quarter to ensure a more accurate assessment of the academic achievement of all students. The 2001-2006 CSP has set the following high and challenging goals:

Seventy-five percent of all students will perform in the top two national percentile quarters on a standardized, norm-referenced assessment (At and Above the Standard performance levels). Fewer than 8 percent will perform at the bottom quarter level (Below the Standard performance level).

The following table provides a broad picture of the 2002-05 distribution of DoDEA students' test scores compared to the nation's students. The results show that the increase needed in the percentage of DoDEA students scoring in the “Above the Standard” and “At the Standard” performance levels is quite small, ranging from 4% to 8%.

The following table provides a display of the 2002-05 distribution of DoDEA students' test scores in the “Below the Standard” performance level. The results show that DoDEA students have met the 2006 goal in Language Arts and are very near the 2006 goal in all other subject areas.

DoDEA is comprised of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS), serving dependents of military and civilian employees in foreign countries, and the Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS), serving military dependents in the United States and her territories.