Military school students’ test scores lead the nation

Students at Department of Defense schools continued their ride at the top of the nation in 4th and 8th grade math and reading scores, according to results released Jan. 29.

The average scores of students in Department of Defense Education Activity schools ranged from 14 to 25 points higher than the national averages in math and reading in the two grades of students who took the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests. DODEA students were ranked at the top of the states in each of the tests.

The NAEP tests were administered across the country between January and March 2024. The NAEP is the only nationally representative assessment of what American students know and can do in various subject areas, and they’re conducted periodically.

Not all students take the NAEP. In most cases, it’s a representative sample of students, but in DODEA schools, all the students in the designated grades take the test that particular year.

With scores increasing or decreasing by one point – or remaining the same – in each of the tests, students in DOD schools held their own in comparison to their scores in 2022, the last time the tests were administered. That year, DOD schools also led the nation in reading and math scores for 4th and 8th graders.

“I am delighted that DODEA has once again performed exceptionally well on the National Assessment of Educational Progress,” said DODEA Director Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, in an announcement of the results. “Credit for this success belongs to our incredible teachers, administrators, and staff of DODEA, and most importantly to our students and their families, for all their hard work and dedication.”

While the gap is widening between DODEA and the nation’s public schools, it’s largely due to the lack of progress in the public schools. The results for the nation as a whole show that “the nation’s 4th and 8th graders are not making the level of progress needed to regain ground lost during the pandemic,” officials with the National Center for Education Statistics said in a press release.

The military’s school system continued to focus on in-person learning while navigating the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

DODEA operates 161 accredited schools in 11 foreign countries, seven states, Guam and Puerto Rico, including the DODEA Virtual School. There are nearly 900,000 military school-age children, and of those, about 65,000 attend DODEA schools.

Because there are relatively few DODEA schools and military families move frequently, children transition in and out of DODEA schools. It remains to be seen whether there will be lasting effects on military children because of remote learning in public schools they attended during COVID-19, before enrolling into a DODEA school.

“That’s a good question to ask. Any analysis of DODEA school scores needs to take into account that the majority of students are not in DODEA for a long time,” said Eileen Huck, acting director of government relations for the National Military Family Association. “Kids are generally only in DODEA schools for a short period of time. They have one or two school years before they transition into the next school district after a military move.”

The NAEP math and reading scale scores range from 0 to 500. The DODEA scores in reading and math have generally remained steady since 2017. The NAEP also separates the scores into categories of those students performing at or above the basic level, at or above proficient or at an advanced level.

Among the findings in reading:

• The average score in reading for DODEA 4th graders was 234, which is 20 points higher than their counterparts in the nation’s public schools. In 2024, 48% of DODEA 4th graders performed at or above the NAEP proficient level in reading, compared to 30% in the nation’s public schools.
• The average score in reading for DODEA 8th graders was 282, which is 25 points higher than their counterparts in the nation’s public schools. In 2024, 53% of DODEA 8th graders scored at or above NAEP proficient levels in reading, compared to 29% in the nation’s public schools.

In math:

• The average score for DODEA 4th graders in math was 251, which is 14 points higher than their counterparts in the nation’s public schools. In 2024, 54% of DODEA 4th graders scored at or above NAEP proficient levels in math, compared to 39% in the nation’s public schools.
• The average score for DODEA 8th graders in math was 291, which was 19 points higher than their counterparts in the nation’s public schools. In 2024, 41% of DODEA 8th graders scored at or above the NAEP proficient levels in math, compared to 27% of their counterparts in the nation’s public schools.